Dawn & Spike: Timeless Book 1 To the Future
by The Bard2
Summary: The future holds many possibilities, but for Dawn and Spike the possibilities are limited, until a surprise visitor from the past...
1. Prologue - The Key

Title -Timeless: Prologue: The Key  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless: Prologue: The Key  
  
The Key is an energy matrix vibrating at a dimensional frequency beyond normal human perception. Only those outside reality can see the key's true nature, it is also susceptible to necromanced animal detection, particularly those of canine or serpent construct.  
  
The monks of the order of Dagon, protectors of the Key, possessed the ability to transform energy, bend reality so in order to hide the Key from the hell god, Glorificus, they sent the Key to the Slayer, Buffy Summers, but they had to be certain the Slayer would protect it with her life. So they sent the key to her in human form.  
  
In the form of a sister.  
  
"Because I love you. You're my sister." Buffy said looking at her  
  
"No I'm not." Dawn said.  
  
"Yes you are." she lifted Dawn's arm, her arm and hand are bloody from the cut's she had made earlier, "Look, it's blood. It's Summers blood."  
  
Buffy pressed her hand against the tire-iron wound on her shoulder, wincing a little. She clasped her bloody hand in Dawn's bloody hand.  
  
"It's just like mine. It doesn't matter where you came from, or, or how you got here. You are my sister."  
  
"You think you're losing your ability to love." The First Slayer said.  
  
"I-I didn't say that." Buffy said, she then sighed, "Yeah."  
  
"You're afraid that being the Slayer means losing your humanity." The First Slayer told her.  
  
"Does it?" Buffy asked.  
  
"You are full of love. You love with all of your soul. It's brighter than the fire ... blinding. That's why you pull away from it." The First Slayer said.  
  
"I'm full of love? I'm not losing it?" Buffy asked her surprise was noticeable.  
  
"Only if you reject it. Love is pain, and the Slayer forges strength from pain. Love ... give ... forgive. Risk the pain. It is your nature. Love will bring you to your gift." The First Slayer told her.  
  
"I-I'm sorry, I, I'm just a little confused. I'm full of love, which is nice, and ... love will lead me to my gift?" Buffy sounded confused.  
  
"Yes." The First Slayer answered.  
  
"I'm getting a gift? Or, or do you mean that, that I have a gift to give to someone else?" Buffy asked still confused.  
  
"Death is your gift." The First Slayer said cryptically.  
  
"Death ..." Buffy began  
  
"Is your gift." finished The First Slayer  
  
"Um ... Glory ... plans to open a ... dimensional portal ... by way of a ritual bloodletting." Giles said.  
  
"Dawn's blood." Buffy said.  
  
"Yes. Once the blood is shed at a certain time and place ... the fabric which separates all realities will ... be ripped apart." Giles told her, "Dimensions will ... pour into one another, uh, with no barriers to stop them. Reality as we know it will be destroyed, and ... chaos will reign on earth."  
  
"So how do we stop it?" Buffy asked.  
  
"The portal will only close once the blood is stopped ... and the only way for that to happen is, um ..." Giles paused and looked at Buffy, "Buffy, the only way is to kill Dawn."  
  
"The key was ... living energy. It needed to be channelled, poured into a specific place at a specific time. The energy ... would flow into that spot, the walls between the dimensions break down. It stops, the energy's used up, the walls come back up. Glory uses that time to get back into her own dimension, not caring that all manner of hell will be unleashed on earth in the meantime." Said Giles to the gathered group.  
  
"Um, but only for a little while, right? The walls come back up, uh, n-no more hell?" Anya asked.  
  
"That's only if the energy is stopped. And now the key is human ..." Willow said looking at Buffy, "...is Dawn."  
  
"The blood flows, the gates will open. The gates will close when it flows no more." Giles read from the book in front of him, "When Dawn is dead."  
  
"Why blood? Why Dawn's blood? I mean, why couldn't it be like a, a lymph ritual?" Xander asked. "Cause it's always got to be blood." Spike answered. "We're not actually discussing dinner right now." Xander snapped. "Blood is life, lack brain. Why do you think we eat it? It's what keeps you going. Makes you warm. Makes you hard. Makes you other than dead." Spike retorted, the quietly, "Course it's her blood."  
  
"Come on. Say it . Tell me to kill my sister." Buffy demanded.  
  
"She's not your sister." Giles whispered.  
  
"No. She's not. She's more than that. She's me. The monks made her out of me. I hold her ... and I feel closer to her than ..." Buffy sighed, "It's not just the memories they built. It's physical. Dawn ... is a part of me. The only part that I-"  
  
"I'm counting on you ... to protect her." Buffy said to Spike "Till the end of the world. Even if that happens to be tonight." he answered.  
  
At the top of the tower Doc produced a pocket-watch and looked at it as Dawn watched him fearfully.  
  
"Well. What do you know?" Doc doesn't see Spike appear behind him, "It's just about that time."  
  
"Spike!" Dawn yelled.  
  
Doc whirled around as Spike strode slowly forward.  
  
"Doesn't a fella stay dead when you kill him?" he asked.  
  
"Look who's talking." Doc retorted.  
  
"Come on, Doc. Let's you and me have a go." Spike taunted him.  
  
"I ... do have a prior appointment." Doc said tapping the knife against his hand.  
  
"This won't take long." Spike said.  
  
"No, I-I don't imagine it will." Doc said back.  
  
Spike lunged forward. Doc sidestepped, grabbed Spike around the neck, and thrust his knife into Spike's back. Spike and Dawn both gasped.  
  
Doc yanked the knife out and dropped it to the floor, Spike positions himself in between Doc and Dawn.  
  
"You don't come near the girl, Doc." Spike said.  
  
"I don't smell a soul anywhere on you. Why do you even care?" Doc said frowning. "I made a promise to a lady." Spike retorted. "Oh?" Doc's long tongue appeared from his mouth, shot out at Spike, who ducked aside. Doc dropped to his knees and pulled Spike's legs out from under him. Spike fell to the floor. Dawn watched anxiously as they grapple. They got to their feet, Doc held on to Spike, pinning his arms behind him.  
  
"Then I'll send the lady your regrets." he said  
  
Spike gave Dawn an agonized look. "No." he whispered  
  
Doc pushed Spike over the edge of the tower.  
  
Doc's knife cut a thin slash through Dawn's clothes and her skin. Dawn cried out and sobbed in pain.  
  
"Shallow cuts... shallow cuts..." Doc said over Dawn's sobbing.  
  
He made another cut and Dawn cried out again.  
  
"Let the blood ... flow ..." he said as the blood drips over Dawn's toes, "free."  
  
"Dawn." Buffy said from behind Doc  
  
"Buffy!" Dawn gasped in pain.  
  
"Buffy, you have to let me go. Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop." Dawn cried to her sister.  
  
Buffy stares at Dawn in anguish.  
  
"You know you have to let me. It has to have the blood." Dawn said tearfully  
  
Buffy gets a realization look on her face and she flashes back to what Spike had said earlier "Cause it's always got to be blood." then she flashes to the hospital after Dawn found out she was the Key "It's Summers blood. It's just like mine." Buffy had told her. Then Buffy remembered the first slayer "Death is your gift."  
  
Buffy thought she heard the first slayers voice again "Death is your gift."  
  
Buffy frowned and turned around slowly.  
  
In the distance, holes seemed to be opening in the sky. The sky is growing lighter as the sun tries to rise.  
  
Buffy looked peaceful as she turned back to Dawn, who stared wide-eyed.  
  
"Buffy ... no!" Dawn cried. "Dawnie, I have to." Buffy calmly told her. "No!" Dawn cried again "Listen to me. Please, there's not a lot of time, listen," Buffy held Dawn by the upper arms and said, "Dawn, listen to me. Listen, I love you. I will *always* love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles ... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong."  
  
Dawn begins to cry. Lightning continues to crackle behind them.  
  
"Dawn, the hardest thing in this world ... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me." Buffy said as she stroked the side of Dawn's face, before kissing her on the cheek. Dawn continued to cry.  
  
Buffy turned. In slow-motion, she ran down the platform as Dawn stayed there crying.  
  
Buffy swan-dived off the end of the platform and into the portal.  
  
Dawn watched, sobbing.  
  
Buffy fell into the portal and hung there motionless, making expressions of pain. The portal writhed and spat. The portal shrunk to nothingness and disappeared and the sun began to rise.  
  
Willow and Tara were holding each other up and walking forward. Behind them Giles was coming forward too, and Xander holding Anya in his arms. They all walk forward looking at Buffy's lifeless body lying amid the debris. In the background Spike tries to come forward, but falls to the ground as the sunlight hits him.  
  
Willow begins to cry. Xander and Anya look sadly at Buffy. Anya lowered her head to Xander's shoulder.  
  
Giles begins to cry.  
  
Spike covers his sobbing face with his hands.  
  
Dawn comes slowly down the stairs, holding her sides and after seeing the rest of the gang she begins to cry again.  
  
We are in a graveyard, It's a sunny and pretty day with lots of trees and grass. we see a headstone. A small bunch of flowers lies on the grass in front of it.  
  
The headstone reads: BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS 1981-2001 BELOVED SISTER DEVOTED FRIEND SHE SAVED THE WORLD A LOT  
  
"Dawn, the hardest thing in this world ... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me." Buffy had said to Dawn, what she nor any of the others knew was that there was something different about Dawn.  
  
As time went on Buffy was resurrected by Willow and the gang, and they all continued to fight the forces that inhabit the night and the darkness, but over the following years it became obvious to all that Dawn wasn't aging. Even though everyone else kept getting older, Dawn kept her radiant youth.  
  
This was something no one had expected. The Council of Watchers surmised that the mystical energy within Dawn was keeping her from getting older. At the root of her being, she was still The Key, which was almost as old as time itself.  
  
  
  
  
  
This prologue was written by Shane A. Hopkins (q_of_q01@yahoo.co.nz) however, parts are adapted from scripts of Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV episodes and so each adapted part is, therefore, the property of the episode author. Also the last paragraph and a half were written by Misty (mistymoodus@yahoo.com).  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. 


	2. Chapter 1 - Earth Ties

Title - Buffy, The Vampire Slayer - Timeless 1.  
  
Author - Misty (misty@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
I, Misty (misty@i-am-the-key.com), hereby give permission for Shane Hopkins, aka The Sorcerer Bard to post our story, "Timeless" at FanFiction.net. This, 3rd day of August, 2002  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless I  
  
The year was 2501.  
  
Incredibly, the human race was still apart of the ecology of the planet earth. Many things had changed in the past 500 years, and some hadn't.  
  
Dawn, sat on the overlook, watching transports fly by. It was a beautiful day, a cool breeze blew in from the north. Sunnydale stretched for miles, no matter which way one looked. It was quite different from the beginning. Dawn felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she reminisced about Buffy and the others. A sense of overwhelming loneliness once again edged its way to her conscious.  
  
It was over 400 years since the last of the Scooby gang passed away. But Dawn still clung to those early memories.  
  
"Dawn!"  
  
"Oh, hi Spike," Dawn turned and looked at Spike coming up the path.  
  
"I was worried about you, " Spike said softly as he settled down beside Dawn.  
  
Dawn looked at Spike with her still stunning spectrum blue eyes, leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.  
  
"I just wanted some time to think."  
  
Dawn looked at Spike. He didn't appear much older than he did when she first met him. Incredibly, neither did Dawn. She still looked much like a fourteen year old girl. It was learned several years after the "Beginning," that Dawn wasn't aging. Even though everyone else kept getting older, Dawn kept her radiant youth. This was something no one had expected. The Watchers surmised that the mystical energy within Dawn was keeping her from getting older. At the root of her being, she was still "The Key," which was almost as old as time itself.  
  
"We are going to have to leave, you know"  
  
"I know," Spiked sighed. "After all these years, who would've thought that our biggest worry would be the government of all things."  
  
Flash! "BANG!"  
  
"Must be 7:30," said Dawn looking up as she watched the faint vapour stream begin to form as the moon liner descended far above.  
  
"Do we have our tickets?" asked Dawn, looking at Spike.  
  
"Ya, no problems, paid plenty for em. Took most of our reserve."  
  
"Even though it has changed a lot, I will still miss this place."  
  
After all these many years Dawn and Spike had to leave. With the newest technology and the government's ability to track of its citizens, they had become noticed. Some clerk in the bureaucracy had noticed that Dawn should be dead, according to all records, but when it was learned she was still alive and looked like a young girl all hell broke loose. Dawn found herself dealing with some local government officials who were asking too many questions, then the federal investigators showed up and the nightmare started.  
  
Spike and Dawn were escaping. They had their tickets and were scheduled to be on the next moon liner, the onto Mars. Hopefully, they could get lost in the "water rush." Water had been discovered on Mars and everyone wanted in on it. Fresh water was at a premium, millions could be made. Settlers on Mars were being encouraged. Not many questions asked.  
  
Spike wondered if the new sun block would continue to be effective on Mars. About two hundred years ago a sun block was invented that virtually and completely blocked the sun's rays. Since that time, Spike had enjoyed something he had had to avoid for centuries, sunlight. However, mid-day was somewhat of a problem as he still had to wear sunglasses, but latter in the day and towards evening, he found he didn't even need these.  
  
For the past two hundred years life had been good for Spike and Dawn. Although they never married, they lived together and loved each other completely. They had become inseparable. When the government began investigating Dawn, Spike's presence became an issue. Suddenly, they found themselves running, with the government breathing down their neck. In that crime had been all but abolished, the news groups were always looking for something. The thing with Dawn's not aging had become "news" and not only were Spike and Dawn hiding from government types, they now were also hiding from the media.  
  
"Lets go Dawn," checking his carry-on one more time.  
  
Dawn and Spike made it through the preliminary checks, the cost was well worth it Spike was thinking.  
  
As they settled into their comfortable seats the pilot came on over the intercom (some things don't seem to change). "Welcome aboard Moon 143." We will be leaving earth in about ten minutes. Our flight to the moon will take approximately twenty-four hours. We hope you will enjoy your trip." They felt the gentle lift feeling, like being in an old elevator, and the surge of power slowly pushing them back in to their seats.  
  
Dawn took Spike's hand giving him a nervous smile.  
  
"We'll be okay, " said Spike trying to sound more confident than he felt.  
  
Suddenly the whine of the engines began to drown out everything else.  
  
"Um, ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing a minor problem and will be returning to our departure site."  
  
What had not been told the passengers is that when the moon liner tried to leave the atmosphere, it couldn't. Something was keeping it from leaving. Everything on the moon liner was working perfectly, but the liner couldn't seem to get beyond the stratosphere.  
  
As the liner came to rest at its departure pod, word was out. This was news! The media was there to interview passengers and scrambling to put together a story about the aborted flight.  
  
Dawn and Spike, sat looking at each other. They couldn't believe what was happening. In trying to run they had wound up right in the middle of a news spectacle.  
  
Spike sat for a moment, looking around at everyone getting up and moving towards the exits, suddenly had a plan.  
  
"Dawn," he whispered, follow me."  
  
They walked casually towards an exit, then suddenly entered a restroom, quietly closed the door and waited. It didn't take Dawn and Spike long to find something to do.  
  
After about ten to fifteen minutes, Spike quietly opened the door and took a peek. No one was around. Dawn was busy putting things back on and combing her hair. "Come on, Dawn"  
  
They reached the exit and looked around, no one was there. They walked as casually as they could to the nearest depot exit. Most everyone was about 20 to 30 yards at another exit. Spike hailed a transport taxi.  
  
"Where to?"  
  
"Um, 14th and Cummings, thanks," Dawn said with a smile and looked at Spike, he nodded, guessing what she was up to.  
  
A few minutes later they were walking close to the old cemetery, one look around, to make sure they were alone, and they went into Spike's ancient crypt.  
  
"Now what?" asked Dawn, looking at Spike with round eyes. Spike couldn't help himself.  
  
After another round of lovemaking, which after 400 years they still couldn't seem to get enough of, they sat, leaning against a dusty wall each smoking a cigarette.  
  
"God, I love you Dawn."  
  
"I love you too."  
  
They were truly alone together, all they had were each other and they knew it.  
  
"Really, what are we going to do, Spike?"  
  
"I don't know. I wonder what happened on the moon liner?"  
  
Dawn turned and looked at Spike. "I think I know. I, I don't think I can ever leave. Tears began trickling down Dawn's cheeks as she spoke. I am part of something, something that is as old as time, Spike, and part of this earth, whatever it is, it's not letting me leave. I just know it. I can feel it from inside. We, we are going to have to stay here."  
  
Spike looked at Dawn with the understanding that can only come from knowing someone as intimately as he now knew Dawn. He knew that what she said was true. For some reason, he could feel it too.  
  
After all this time, here he was, back in his crypt, destined to live, for god knows how long, a life similar to that which he had lived hundreds of years ago. Only being able to come out at night, when there were few people about. The only thing really different, is now, he had Dawn at his side and they had each other.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	3. Chapter 2 - Back to the Beginning

Title - Buffy, The Vampire Slayer - Timeless 2 : Back to the Beginning.  
  
Author - Misty (misty@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
I, Misty (misty@i-am-the-key.com), hereby give permission for Shane Hopkins, aka The Sorcerer Bard to post our story, "Timeless" at FanFiction.net. This, 3rd day of August, 2002  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless II: Back to the Beginning.  
  
Dawn and Spike settled in and things went as usual, for a while. They easily adapted to their vampire like life-style. Up all night, sleeping most of the day. When they had to, they used the tunnels that still permeated most of old Sunnydale. Unlike many married couples, their love seemed fresh and new everyday. Even though they had lived and loved for hundreds of years, each day seemed like a new experience. This style of living was not because Spike had to stay out of the sun, but they needed to stay hidden. Dawn's apparent immortality had become known and this created a considerable amount of interest, to say the least. The "government" was now searching for them everywhere, except in Spike's ancient crypt.  
  
Spike and Dawn had lived through countless wars, and two world wars, Three and Four. The world finally came to its senses in 2215 and a world government was formed and was given absolute power to govern and had the final say over any disputes, wherever they might occur. Since that time, the peoples of the earth focused on eradicating crime and by the year 2400, any crimes against a person were dealt with swiftly by the world government. Workers were needed in such places as the moon tunnels and in the Martian settlements. Once sent to these places, the convicted were never seen again. When people began to realize what happened when one committed a crime, the incidence of crimes against other persons seemed to take a dive. Special Courts have been set up to handle disputes between persons, no matter how large or small. Over the past 100 years people have come to rely heavily on these and abide by whatever the ruling might be. The other great world focus was searching for resources throughout the solar system. Man still had not conquered the time/distance issue. Although spaceships could approach a speed near the speed of light, it was simply impossible to reach it. Einstein was right. Robot ships still reached for the outer most planets. Man simply did not live long enough to survive a trip to the outer planets, let alone other galaxies. It took enormous resources to explore Mars and Venus. It has only been within the past 75 years that the algae seeded on Mars in late 2300 began to take effect. Now there is breathable air, new forms of life, and of course, Man. Trying to do anything with Venus was abandoned.  
  
Throughout all of these years, Dawn still had not fully grasped her powers. Actually, since the Wicca leaders used her power to move Earth back into orbit 500 years ago, her "powers" have not been taped. All that Dawn knows is that she is The Key. She knows she can be used to bring down the walls between dimensions, can be used to move things through dimensions, and apparently has been given immortality by the essence of mystical power within her. But, even after all this time, she has not ever used her power for herself. The only other development, is that she loves Spike completely.  
  
Late one day in 2516, Dawn woke, she had been dreaming of "the beginning" and Buffy. Even though Spike lay at her side, she suddenly felt so alone. She quietly got up and walked over to the mirror hanging on the rock wall. As she looked at herself, she noted that she was emitting a greenish glow. Her dream had been emotional, her cheeks were still damp from crying in her sleep, as she looked at herself, she thought about Buffy and, suddenly she felt as if someone had put a tuning fork against her head, there was a loud silent break or something, as she stood there, she realized the, the mirror was gone! The crypt looked different. What, is..  
  
"Hey little-bit, what're you doing here?"  
  
Dawn turned and there was Spike, dressed like he used to dress, in his black coat, shirt, and pants.  
  
"Oh Spike, I had the weirdest thing just happen" as she ran over and put her arms around him and put her head up to give him a kiss."  
  
"Hey, wha, hey, what are your doing! My god, Buffy sees you doing that and she'd run a light pole though my chest!"  
  
Dawn, backed up, staring at Spike. "What, what do you mean? God Spike we've been making love for over 400 years, what do you mean?  
  
Spike starred at Dawn. Then he noticed her clothes were quite different from anything he had ever seen. As he kept looking at her he felt the little hairs on the back of neck began to move. His eyes became wide, and he looked closer. "Dawn, tell me exactly what you mean."  
  
"What I mean. What do you mean what I mean. Spike, you and me, for the past four centuries, what do you mean what do I mean," almost yelling now and beginning to sound a little hysterical.  
  
"Spike, have you seen Da., oh, she's here, what are you doing here?" Buffy asked as she came across the crypt looking very unhappy and standing with her arms tightly crossed.  
  
Dawn stood, taking it all in, stunned beyond belief, how, how could, when I looked in the mirror, I was thinking of Buffy and I was glowing, I'm back. I'm here with Buffy and Spike doesn't even know we have been lovers for four centuries. Dawn suddenly lost her ability to stand any longer and went down on to the floor.  
  
"Dawny, are you okay?" Buffy said while she knelt down to take a good look at Dawn.  
  
Spike was taking this all in and was already putting it together.  
  
"Buffy, Buffy"  
  
"What is it Spike, and why is Dawn here and why has she got those weird clothes on? What the hell has been going on!"  
  
All Dawn could do is croak, "Buffy" before she fainted.  
  
When she woke, she was in her own bed in the house she hadn't seen for over 400 years. She found herself having trouble breathing. She sat up.  
  
"Oh Dawny! How's my girl?" Willow said as she entered the room.  
  
Dawn sat looking at Willow as if she were in a dream. "Oh Willow" as she got up and put her arms around her and hugged her for all she was worth.  
  
"Dawny, are you alright?"  
  
"I don't know"  
  
"Do you want to tell me about it?"  
  
Dawn sat down holding Willow's hand, afraid to let go. Willow sat down next to her looking at Dawn intently.  
  
"Willow, there is something I need to tell you."  
  
Willow starting nodding her head, hoping it had nothing to do with maybe going too far with whoever.  
  
Dawn began to tell Willow what she thought had happened and where she had come from. This time it was Willow's turn to feel faint. "Oh my God, Dawny." Then Dawn, looking at Willow began to cry and so did Willow as they hugged each other.  
  
"What's going on, and who.. Oh, my, how, who..you..what.." said Dawn with the roundest eyes ever as she stood in the door way looking at Willow, hugging her! As she backed out of the room, she suddenly felt weak, as did Dawn who was sitting with Willow. What, wha..as she slipped to the floor in a faint.  
  
Buffy came up the stairs just in time to see Dawn back out of the room and slide down the wall. "Dawny, are you ok?" as she bent down she looked into the room and almost followed Dawn to the floor. Sitting in the room was Willow, with Dawn on the bed.  
  
Dawn's presence was causing more problems than anyone could've guessed. She realized that the future could never be the same. It was at that moment she decided that she had to fix it. If she could go back in time, then she should be able to go the other way too. After all, isn't time a dimension. That's what she does, she is used to move things through dimensions, maybe her "real" power is that she is able to move herself through time. It hit her like an electric jolt. "Of course, that's it. That is what I am able to do. I could go back to the very beginning of time, or go to the end of time." Both of those thoughts gave her the chills. She needed some time to figure out how she could set everything right.  
  
To say the meal was a little different, would qualify as the understatement of the millennium. At the table, sat Dawn staring across the table at Dawn. The rest of the scoobies had arrived as soon as word got out. Here sat two identical Dawns. One was an obstinate 14 year old with all the mannerisms to match and the other a sophisticated woman, who also looked every bit 14, but who's mannerisms betrayed a considerably older, wiser, mature woman. Spike was beside himself and for once in his life, totally speechless, as was about everyone. To lessen the confusion, Joyce, Buffy's mom, suggested that they refer to the less mature Dawn as Dawny and the more mature Dawn as Dawn. It would go down as one of the more incredible experiences of the scoobies, ever. Xander was the first to break the icy silence.  
  
"So, Dawnster, uh..."  
  
Both looked at him with their eyebrows raised. Then looked at each other and began to laugh. Unintentionally, Xander had broken the spell. Then all began talking at once. Since Dawn had already decided what it was that she needed to do, she was able to let down a little and began to discuss the future in vivid detail, much to everyone's delight. She left out her relationship with Spike, knowing how much that would disturb just about all of them. Even though she wasn't sure she should even be there, it felt so good to see everyone again. She about died when she realized she had come back before her mom had succumbed to the tumour. There was so much hugging and kissing and hugging some more.  
  
However, Dawn was relatively well read and quite aware of the various theories regarding time travel. She prayed to god, that her being there wasn't creating some kind of time flux in the space-time continuum that could destroy the universe. On the other hand, that was what she was created for. She had to smile. Dawny was the most curious. She kept asking question after question, who would she marry, when would she marry, would she have any kids, etc. etc. etc. Dawn was reluctant to say anything about her future relationship with Spike, although Spike was already well aware of it from her comments in the crypt. Her occasional fleeting look at him told him all he needed to know. If he could just get alone for a while. After the long meal, people began to go their various ways. Dawny had to go to school, Xander to work, etc. Dawn spent a long time with her mother and Buffy. Letting them know she would be alright. It was then that Buffy realized that Dawn wasn't going to be around much longer. Dawn explained to both Buffy and to her mother that she had to leave, she had to set things as they were. She was so glad she was able to come back and see them again. The tears that followed engulfed them all. It all seemed so surreal.  
  
Dawn left with Spike later in the morning. She took out two small mirrors that she had "borrowed." One she hung on the wall in the crypt, the other she put back in her pocket.  
  
"So Dawn, we are lovers, you and me, in the future I mean?"  
  
"Yes Spike, " said Dawn looking at Spike with a twinkle in her eyes. "I will see you again, I promise."  
  
Spike looked at Dawn and began to understand, "I will miss you" finding that he suddenly had developed a lump down deep in his throat.  
  
"Not for long, really."  
  
Dawn placed the mirror on the wall. She knew she had to do this, she had to make it right. She looked at Spike and realized how much she loved him and felt the emotional surge, she began to glow, she looked into the mirror, she knew what she had to do, for all of them, there was a flash, not really a flash, but something occurred.  
  
Dawn was standing in the crypt, just as she had when she first arrived. She took out the other small mirror she had borrowed from Dawny's room and put it on the little nook in the wall, where the other had been.  
  
"Hey little-bit, what're you doing here?"  
  
It took all of her will power to keep her focus on the mirror and what she needed to do.  
  
Flash, a loud silent something!  
  
Dawn was standing in front of her mirror. Spike was sleeping yet. She looked around, the crypt was as she had left it. All was as it had been. Spike turned over and looked at her, "Lil-bit, you want to snuggle?" Dawn undid her clothes as she crawled in beside Spike. "I love you." 


	4. Chapter 3 - On The Run

Title -Timeless 3: On The Run.  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless III: On The Run.  
  
**T minus 96 hours**  
  
"What do we know of this Dawn person?" asked the woman in the stylised military uniform. She is sitting at the head of a table in a nondescript room that, by an extreme coincidence, was in a very nondescript building.  
  
"General, we know that she had to have been born in the late twentieth or the early twenty-first, we also know that she had a sister but her name is still a mystery, because as you know almost all our current records were recovered after the fourth world war from the archive computer on the moon." the major standing at the display screen, "We have found that she is still in contact with the target, Sir."  
  
"And what do we know of the target?" the general asked.  
  
"Sir, we have found that during the early twenty-first a United States government team tried to harness the powers of the demonic creatures, it turns out that the target was initially captured by them and was classified as Hostile 17, we have since learned that his name is currently Spike, we are still looking into his possible whereabouts." the major replied.  
  
A corporal came in saluted and handed a piece of paper to the major, saluted again and left the room.  
  
"Sir, we have just found a reference to a crypt in a Sunnydale cemetery that was frequented by the target." the major said looking at the general.  
  
"Mobilise an recon-team, and go check it out." the general said before she got up and left the room.  
  
**T minus 60 hours**  
  
It had been four days since Dawn had travelled back through time and she was feeling a little uncomfortable around Spike, it was as if her subconscious was pleading with her to tell him what she had done. She had tried to tell him the day after she got back but she found she didn't have the words to do it.  
  
"What is it Dawn?" Spike had asked with that slight upturn of the corner of his mouth that Dawn liked so much.  
  
"Just thinking." had been her reply and Spike seemed to realise that it was something that she wasn't ready to share. But that was three days ago and now . Now Dawn was ready to tell him what had happened.  
  
"Spike?" Dawn whispered in his ear.  
  
"Mmm?" Spike said without stopping the nuzzling he was doing.  
  
"Spike. Stop." Dawn said more forcefully, "I have something to tell you."  
  
Spike leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. They were where the spent most of their time these days, back in Spike's old crypt.  
  
Dawn, who was straddling Spikes legs looked at him and remembered the exact  
  
moment she realised she was in love with him. She shook her head and went on.  
  
"Spike, I have to tell you, about what happened four days ago." Dawn told him everything where she had gone what she had done and why she did it.  
  
"So, it's begun?" Spike said in a funny tone.  
  
"What's begun?" Dawn asked looking puzzled.  
  
"You can move through time, I was dreading this day." Spike said picking her up off his legs and standing her on her own legs.  
  
"Why? What's going to happen?" Dawn asked looking even more puzzled.  
  
"Do you remember about five hundred years ago, when we were attacked by that Devsh'k demon?" Spike asked, he was pacing now looking worried.  
  
"Yea, that was the one that tried to get you to help him right?" Dawn said taking spike's seat after a moment thinking.  
  
"Yea that's the one, well just before I got 'recruited' by him I was in Willie's place talking with an old friend, Jimmy, he's a Corlake'a demon, I first met him about three years after I became a vampire but in 1921 he was in Switzerland, and so was I apparently and I was with a companion that he had never seen before, I didn't have time back in 2001 to ask him about it but I caught up with him in 2034 and got the full story from him." Spike paused looking at Dawn, "The companion he described was a young looking humanoid shape, but not human, she, according to Jimmy was powerful and she had the most stunning spectrum blue eyes and brunette hair." he finished staring at Dawn's stunning spectrum blue eyes and brunette hair.  
  
"Me?" Dawn asked in amazement.  
  
"Sound's like it, but the thing of it is I don't remember anything about it, but just as I was about to find out more a band of Kreblen'r came crashing into Jimmy's home and killed him and all his family." Spike actually looked sad over that.  
  
"So what, you're saying is that I travel back in time to the 1920's with you and do . What?" Dawn said getting up from where she was sitting.  
  
"From what I could gather we went and heisted some fancy monkish amulet that helps, now let me see, I have to get this right." Spike said as he stopped pacing, "Ah, yes, it helped Beings Not Born Of The Flame, what ever those are."  
  
"So you think that because I've just found out that I can travel through time we should go back and do what ever it was we were supposed to?" Dawn asked getting a little angry.  
  
"Well I don't understand temporal physics but yea we kinda have to don't we?" Spike said.  
  
Dawn realised that he was right they had to go back because if they didn't then the entire fabric of the universe could collapse in on itself. Those university courses in Temporal Physics had paid off.  
  
**T minus 24 hours**  
  
"So when do we go, Dawn?" Spike said as he clicked of the old fashioned television set.  
  
"Well we need to ma ." Dawn began but was interrupted by the crypt door being battered in by a military battering ram.  
  
There was a metallic clinking as a round metal ball was rolled into the room, when it hit one of the pillars in the crypt it sent out a pulse of energy that paralysed Dawn, it should have paralysed Spike but something went wrong, he felt a small electric shock in his head and as a result when the military swat team came running in Spike had his game face on.  
  
"By order of the Global Military Police you are all under arrest for violations of the Income Tax Statute, the Revenue Collection Decree and the Material Code" yelled the sergeant that appeared to be in charge.  
  
Spike roared and flew at them, he punched the first one in the nose so hard he killed him then took on the rest of the military men and women swinging punches and kicks so fast that any onlookers, had there been any, wouldn't have been able to keep track.  
  
A few minutes later all twelve soldiers were either dead or out for the count, and Spike was standing in the middle of them looking around.  
  
"Didn't that hurt?" Dawn croaked from the side of the crypt where she had managed to prop herself up against the wall.  
  
"No, huh it should have, oh well, hey what was that ball they used to knock us down?" Spike asked.  
  
"A concussion grenade, I didn't think they were allowed to use those anymore." Dawn said as she tried to stand, she got halfway up when she lost her balance, Spike caught her before she hit the ground, "Thanks, they must have figured out that we hang out here."  
  
"Bugger and I just got this place looking right." Spike said looking a little hurt, "Well come on darlin' we best be going." Spike took Dawn in his arms and carried her towards the door.  
  
"Hey, Spike." Dawn said.  
  
"Yea?" Spike said.  
  
"I think I can walk now." Dawn said looking deeply into his eyes.  
  
Spike smiled at her as he put her down, she was still a little unsteady but she could walk on her own.  
  
"Don't move!" came a call from outside the crypt.  
  
Spike and Dawn moved out of the doorway to see dozens of soldiers surrounding the crypt. They were all heavily armed Spike could even see some in the back with rocket launchers.  
  
"Oh boy." Dawn said under her breath.  
  
"You are hereby under arrest by the power of the Global Military Police." said the man in front, he was wearing the uniform of a major.  
  
Several men came up behind them and clamped handcuffs on them, special Duranium reinforced ones that they reserved for genetically engineered super beings. They were then led to an armoured truck.  
  
An hour later they were placed into two high containment cells in a high security facility.  
  
"What do ya think they'll do to us?" Dawn said, for the first time in nearly a century she sounded frightened.  
  
"Dunno sweetie, if they're anything like that damn Initiative back in the twenty-first, they could dissect us, or worse." Spike answered as he slumped down to the floor of his cell.  
  
"We want you to answer our questions." came a female voice from the other side of the room.  
  
"Who the hell are you, mate?" Spike asked without getting up.  
  
"I am General Sarah Gellar, Joint Chiefs of Staff." the woman answered.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	5. Chapter 4 - Capture

Title - Timeless 4: Capture.  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless IV: Capture.  
  
**T minus 18 hours**  
  
"They've told us nothing." General Gellar said in disgust.  
  
"No sir, however we have found that the vampire has a primitive cerebral behaviour modification chip implanted in his brain." a red headed female major told her.  
  
"Is it active?" Gellar asked.  
  
"No it appears to be inactive but the interesting thing is it seems to have become inactive only recently." the major replied.  
  
"Anyway to find out when it became inactive?" Gellar asked.  
  
"Dissection, Sir." the major answered.  
  
"Get the medics ready, begin as soon as they are ready." Gellar said, "How long will it take for them to prepare?"  
  
"About 18 to 20 hours Sir." the major informed him.  
  
"Very well get them ready."  
  
"Aye, Sir." the major said as he saluted and turned and headed out.  
  
"Major Hannigan?" Gellar called.  
  
"Yes, Sir?" the major said as she stopped at the door and turned round.  
  
"The girl, make sure she knows she'll be next if she doesn't talk." Gellar said with no emotion.  
  
"Aye, Sir." Hannigan didn't look too happy at that.  
  
**T minus 10 hours**  
  
"Spike?" Dawn called.  
  
"Yea?" Spike responded, Dawn could hear in his voice something she hadn't ever heard from him before. Fear.  
  
"Do you think they'll feed us?" Dawn asked, she was getting hungry.  
  
"Doubt it, they're just gonna dissect us to find out what makes us tick, so why feed us?" Spike answered.  
  
"You don't think you could get out of your cell do you?" Dawn asked him.  
  
"Na, it's not worth it." Spike sounded as if he had given up all hope.  
  
"Don't give up hope Spike." Dawn said, there was something in her voice that made Spike look up and directly at her.  
  
From Spike's perspective Dawn was surrounded by a green glow as she faded from being and then faded back into existence in his cell.  
  
From Dawn's perspective there was a flash, that wasn't really a flash, and a loud silence and she was suddenly in Spike's cell.  
  
"H-how did you do that?" Spike asked in astonishment.  
  
"Space is just another dimension." Dawn said simply with a smile.  
  
"Then get us the hell out of here." Spike said standing up, Dawn noticed that he had some of the color, for lack of a better word, in his cheeks.  
  
"Your wish is my command." she said with a smile.  
  
"Actually you will not be going anywhere." came a voice from outside the cell.  
  
Dawn and Spike both turned to see who had spoken, they both gasped.  
  
"X-Xander?" Dawn stammered.  
  
"No, I do not know you, my name is Corporal Brendon and I am here to escort the vampire to the medical laboratory." with that Brendon drew a stun gun and opened the cell doors, "Come peacefully and I won't hurt you."  
  
"Fat chance mate." Spike said, his face morphing as he sprang at the corporal.  
  
"I'm sorry." Brendon said with no trace of emotion, as he shot Spike in the chest, knocking him unconscious so he landed at his feet. Brendon closed the cell doors again and looked at Dawn, "He's to be dissected and I have orders to tell you that if you continue to resist cooperating you will be next."  
  
Brendon with the help of two other corporals hefted Spike onto a hospital gurney and wheeled him out of the room.  
  
"Dissected." Dawn heard herself say as she slumped to the ground.  
  
"Go to him." she heard a voice say, it sounded a lot like she remembered Buffy's had when she was in her early twenties.  
  
"Buffy?" she asked.  
  
There was no answer, she decided that it was a trick created by the military. But she realised that there was nothing stopping her from doing what the voice had said.  
  
Dawn stood up and concentrated she though of Spike and the way he touched her and the way he felt against her and suddenly there was a flash, that wasn't really a flash, and a loud silence and she opened her eyes and found herself in an operating room that was empty except for Spike laying there on an operating table.  
  
"Spike!" she cried as she ran to his side.  
  
"Oh, Lil-bit?" Spike said coming to.  
  
"Yea, come on let's get the hell out of here." Dawn said helping him to stand.  
  
"Okay but I'm gonna need some help." Spike said his words were a little muffled as if he were talking through a wad of cotton wool.  
  
Dawn took most of his weight on her shoulders and helped him across to the doors, she opened them a fraction and peeked out.  
  
Suddenly the lights in the observation dome came on and there were two dozen heavily armed soldiers pointing their weapons at them, the doors were opened from the outside and General Gellar came striding in.  
  
"Now, that's a neat trick young lady." she said looking at Dawn.  
  
"And you ain't seen nothing yet." Dawn said, her eyes began to glow green as she focused her energies on the soldiers who suddenly shimmered and were gone.  
  
"What did you do to my men?" Gellar asked looking around.  
  
"I sent them to Fort Worth." Dawn said with a smile, "And now it's time for you. To. Go. Away." with each word she took a step forward and Gellar took one back.  
  
Dawn stared at her, as her eyes glowed green again. Just as she was about to send the General to Alaska she turned the power on herself and Spike sending them back to what was, five hundred years ago, the Summers' residence, which through some sort of miracle hadn't been torn down or changed at all.  
  
"What a rush." said Spike, he could now stand on his own and was looking around thinking that it was good that it was night.  
  
"Come on Spike we have to hide somewhere." Dawn said.  
  
"This way, there's a hidden cavern off the sewer, it was a bomb shelter back during WW3." he said pointing down the street, "No one owns it so I can enter freely."  
  
**T minus 2 hours**  
  
"Any sign of them major?" Gellar asked Hannigan.  
  
"No, Sir, but we have teams out looking in all the places we know they have spent time." Hannigan answered.  
  
"Have you checked the house she grew up in?" Gellar asked.  
  
"Yes, Sir, 1630 Rivelo Drive, Sunnydale. It was one of the first places checked." Hannigan replied.  
  
"Make sure you do a thorough search of the surrounding area, the vampire probably knows his way round there." Gellar said as she strode from the room.  
  
"Aye Sir." Hannigan said quietly. She was beginning to think that the General was taking this a little too personally.  
  
"How long can we hide out here?" asked Dawn.  
  
"I'm betting they're looking for us and I'm betting they'll be very thorough about it to." Spike answered.  
  
He and Dawn were huddled together in the old bomb shelter that was below a house that Dawn remembered was where Jenny had lived when she was young and innocent, before she found out she was the Key and had a great and terrible destiny.  
  
**T minus 10 minutes**  
  
"Captain Green, this map shows an old bomb shelter under that house." the non-com told the captain in charge of the search.  
  
"Has it been searched?" Green asked back.  
  
"No, Sir." was the answer.  
  
"Well get to it then." Green snapped.  
  
Four soldiers went running to the nearest manhole cover and after pulling it loose hopped down and headed for the entrance to the bomb shelter.  
  
"Dawn!" Spike said sitting upright.  
  
"What?" Dawn asked, she couldn't hear anything.  
  
"They're coming." Spike said, his face morphing as he got up and dropped into an attack stance.  
  
The door burst open and in poured four soldiers all pointing their guns at them.  
  
**T minus 5 minute**  
  
"Sir, we have recaptured the fugitives and they are incarcerated in the special van you sent for the job." Captain Green was reporting to General Gellar.  
  
"Good job, make sure you have at least four of your best men with them at all times." Gellar told him.  
  
"Very well, sir, Green out." he said with a salute, "Sergeant! Make sure the prisoners have a four man guard at all times."  
  
"Aye, Sir." said the sergeant with a salute.  
  
"Dawn, you okay?" Spike asked.  
  
"Shut up, prisoner." one of the guards said swinging his rifle at him.  
  
"STOP!" came Dawn's voice, "Harm him and you will regret it."  
  
The guard laughed and took out a knife and ran it along Spike's cheek, blood welled in the wound. Dawn's eyes flared bright green and the guards vanished.  
  
"Where'd you send em?" Spike asked.  
  
"The lunar prison colony." Dawn answered with a smile, "Come on lets get out of here." she focused and suddenly the handcuffs were gone, "Hold on to me."  
  
"With pleasure." Spike said with a wicked smile.  
  
Dawn glowed green and because he was holding her Spike glowed as well and suddenly there was a flash, that wasn't really a flash, and a loud silence.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	6. Chapter 5 - Escape

Title -Timeless 5: Escape.  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless V: Escape.  
  
"Um, where are we?" Spike asked looking around.  
  
They had appeared in a pitch black space that even Spike with his vampire enhanced vision couldn't see through.  
  
"I'm not entirely sure, I just wanted to get as far away from those soldiers as possible, here hang on a sec." Dawn concentrated on her had and it began to glow green, it cast enough light to see they were still in the bomb shelter they had been in less that ten minutes earlier.  
  
"We're back here again?" Spike asked in annoyance.  
  
"No, we're not, look there's no lights or power hooked up." Dawn said indicating the roof, "I think we've come back in time to before this was a bomb shelter."  
  
"Well lets get outside and find out when we are." Spike said taking her by the hand and pulling her behind him.  
  
"Um, we're not in Kansas anymore Toto." Spike said when the reached the surface.  
  
There were in the middle of a desert and no sign of civilisation anywhere.  
  
Suddenly from behind them there was a roar. Spike and Dawn spun round to see a Tyrannosaurus Rex charging them.  
  
"Run!" screamed Dawn and they ran.  
  
"This way!" came a yell from a rise off to their left. Spike and Dawn glanced over and saw what looked like a wolf but it was standing on two legs. The wolf was waving at them with it's paw. Dawn glanced at Spike and shrugged.  
  
They changed direction and headed for the wolf, who when they got close enough led them to a cave in a nearby cliff.  
  
Inside was a roaring fire around which were gathered half a dozen wolves like the one that had saved them.  
  
"Wow, what are you?" Dawn asked.  
  
"We are Lycanthropes." answered the wolf that had saved them, "I am Ulfric, and this is my Lupa." he said indicating the female wolf that came to stand at his side.  
  
"I'm Dawn and this is Spike." Dawn told them, "Thank you for saving us."  
  
"It was no trouble, but I have never seen a Hemovore before." Ulfric said looking at Spike, "Nor a . Wait you are neither Demonic nor Mammalian for that matter. What are you?"  
  
"I . I am the Key." Dawn said a little hesitantly.  
  
"The Key!" gasped the wolves.  
  
"Yea, she is, what of it?" Spike asked.  
  
"The Key is already here and under our protection, we are the Protectors of the Key." Ulfric told them.  
  
"You have been made Mammalian." Lupa said in astonishment.  
  
"Yea, to protect me from a Hell God called Glory, the monks who become protectors of the Key made me human and sent me to the slayer for protection." Dawn told them.  
  
"The slayer, she is here also, she was the original protector of the Key." Ulfric said.  
  
At the back of the cave Dawn notices a primitive looking female humanoid with what looked like black and white body paint on. She moved forward towards the slayer.  
  
"You're the First Slayer?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Yes I am." said one of the wolves, this one was standing next to the First Slayer.  
  
"Can she not talk?" Dawn asked him.  
  
"No she has no speech, except with other daughters of Sineya." the wolf answered.  
  
The First Slayer hissed at Spike who took a step backwards.  
  
"He must die, the one's who inhabit the night must die." the wolf said for the Slayer  
  
"But he walks in the daylight." Dawn said.  
  
"Hey, you're right, I hadn't noticed." Spike said.  
  
"I thought you had put on your sun block." Dawn said quietly.  
  
"No, there wasn't time." Spike said.  
  
"He must still die." the wolf said for the Slayer.  
  
"If he dies I couldn't go on." Dawn said taking a step in front of Spike.  
  
"You care for him?" the wolf asked.  
  
"Yes, I love him." Dawn said turning and looking deeply into Spike's eyes, "Deeply."  
  
"We will let him live, but only as a courtesy to you the Key." the wolf said as the Slayer backed off and headed back to where she had been sitting.  
  
"We must be going anyway." Dawn said, "Thank you all for your hospitality."  
  
"The Hunter will be gone now." said Ulfric, "Please follow me I will take you to where I found you."  
  
"Now, that was different." said Spike raising his eyebrows.  
  
"Yes, but we actually want to be in Switzerland in 1921, don't we." Dawn asked.  
  
"Spot on." Spike said.  
  
"Hold onto your hats, because here we go again." Dawn said as Spike slid his arms round her waist and they began to glow green and suddenly there was a flash, that wasn't really a flash, and a loud silence.  
  
"You know Dawn I really think we need to work on your time shifting abilities." Spike said, they had ended up in Sunnydale, problem was they had defiantly overshot the mark. They had gone too far into the future, according to the first newspaper, or what passed for a newspaper in this future, they found, it was the year 2856.  
  
Luckily for Spike it was night but he could now feel dawn approaching and they needed to get out of the open spaces, which was also a problem since the metropolis, because that's what it now was, seemed to be made entirely of open spaces. The people they passed stared at their clothes as if they had never seen them before, but Dawn and Spike just ignored them.  
  
"Okay let me try again." Dawn said when they had finally found a sewer entrance. It had been just in time too because Spike was just starting to sizzle.  
  
Spike took her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, "Just please try and get it right this time okay?"  
  
"I will I think I've got the hang of this." Dawn said with a cheeky smile.  
  
"Yea, I'll believe that when I see it." Spike said with an equally cheeky smile.  
  
Dawn lightly punched him on the arm.  
  
Spike slid his arms round her waist again and Dawn concentrated and they began to glow this time there was no flash that wasn't a flash but there was a loud silence.  
  
Meanwhile back in 2516.  
  
"What do you mean they just vanished?!" General Gellar screamed at the helpless soldiers, "Nothing just vanishes!"  
  
"Sir." Major Stewart-Head said taking a small step forward.  
  
"If you say the wrong thing I will shoot you myself." Gellar said, her voice had gone deadly quiet.  
  
"Respectively, Sir, we think she has fled through time, if the transcripts of their time at the facility it seems she can move through dimensions and since time is a dimension." Steward-Head said carefully.  
  
"I. Am. Aware. Of. That. Major." Gellar said taking a step towards him with every word.  
  
Gellar's hand moved faster than any human's and most vampire's and grabbed the major's throat and lifted him off the ground, which was quite a feat due to the fact that Gellar was just under a foot shorter that Stewart-Head. Gellar threw his across the room and through the wall.  
  
"SIR!" screamed Hannigan running up to Gellar, who simply looked at her and she went flying backwards and through that wall.  
  
Hannigan managed to sit up and scream at the troops in the room, "The General has fallen under the spell of the enemy, she is to be taken into custody."  
  
"You bitch." Gellar said looking at Hannigan, before she was jumped by fourteen marines. They all went down in a heap struggling to get a hold of Gellar.  
  
"GET OFF ME!" it was Gellar's voice but there was something harder running through it, "I WILL TEACH YOU TO MESS WITH A GOD!" with that the marines went flying in all directions, smashing into walls and pillars and the roof.  
  
Gellar stood in the middle of the room and her entire figure morphed into a  
  
completely different person, this person was fine boned with shoulder length blonde curly hair and a look of insanity in her eyes.  
  
"I AM A HELL GOD, YOU CAN NOT TREAT ME LIKE THIS, I AM GLORY!" said the woman.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	7. Chapter 6 - Return to Glory

Title -Timeless 6: Return to Glory.  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless VI: Return to Glory.  
  
"Minions!" yelled Glory, she had taken up residence in the general's reserved luxury suite at the Sunnydale Royale Hotel.  
  
"Yes, your glorious radiance?" a scabby demon said as he shuffled to her side.  
  
"Find me a human, I need a brain." Glory said.  
  
"Yes, your magnificence." the demon said as he started to shuffle away.  
  
"God, I need to get out of this miserable reality." Glory said to herself.  
  
"Find me more brains." Glory demanded.  
  
"Yes, your.um.graciousness." Drufus was running out of flattering names to call Glory.  
  
"I am not gracious, I am a hell god and I hurt and cause pain!" Glory was almost screaming.  
  
There was a knock at the door, two other scabby demons rushed to answer it.  
  
"Excuse me, but I was wondering if anything was wrong?" it was the hotel manager.  
  
The demons grabbed him and hauled him into the room towards Glory, who was jumping up and down like a little girl who was about to get a present.  
  
When they were close enough Glory cracked her knuckles and placed her fingers on either side of the managers head and pushed. There was a burst of white light and both the manager and Glory screamed as she sucked the bonds from his brain.  
  
Glory pulled her fingers out of his head with a flourish, "Now that was a brain." she said with a smile.  
  
"The clock is going backwards, the clock is going round and round backwards." the manager started yelling.  
  
"Get rid of that." Glory said with disgust.  
  
"The green has gone backwards, the clock runs in circles, the golden will follow." the manager was whimpering now.  
  
"What, the frick is he on about?" Glory demanded.  
  
"The green key follows the clock in circles." the manager said looking up at Glory, "The golden follows the circles round the green."  
  
"Is he talking about.The Key?" Glory asked excitedly.  
  
"It would appear so your painfulness." Drufus said.  
  
"Platinum and green and golden round and round in circles inside circles and round and round the clock they go where a second is an hour but offers no relief from the snow, the clock, the clock it goes up and down and left and right." the manager was almost singing now.  
  
"Will someone shut him up! I need to think." Glory yelled at the minions.  
  
"Yes your.um.ah." Drufus had finally run out of flattering names.  
  
"Just do it!" Glory screamed. Four minions ran to the manager and covered his mouth, he was still trying to speak through the hands.  
  
"Dawn where are we?" Spike asked.  
  
"We are in the right time, I think." Dawn said, they had arrived in a sewer and so had no way of telling where or when they were.  
  
"Let's head up top." Spike suggested.  
  
They headed down to the left using Dawn's glowing arm as a light. They soon came to a ladder leading up to the surface.  
  
Luckily for Spike it was early night so they were able to walk around with out him bursting into flames.  
  
"Well , you seem to have got the right century." Spike said.  
  
"Ha, ha very funny, I know I got it right this time." Dawn said with a small smile.  
  
"Looks like you got the country right too." Spike said with a larger smile.  
  
"Your magnificence, what are we to do?" Drufus asked while the four minions tied up the hotel manager.  
  
"We find a way to follow the Key to wherever it went." Glory said, she was lounging on the deluxe couch in front of the plexi-window facing the fabulous view of the coastline, well not the actual coastline because that had been reclaimed a couple of hundred years ago.  
  
"What would we use oh lusty feelings coursing one?" Drufus asked.  
  
"The Chronomus Stone!" Glory exclaimed.  
  
"The what? your greatness." Drufus asked.  
  
"The Chronomus Stone, it was forged by that cute little troll back in the prehistoric paradise that this mudball used to be." Glory said.  
  
"What does it do? oh glowing one." the demon standing next to Drufus asked.  
  
"It allows anyone endowed with godlike powers to move through time." Glory said smiling like the proverbial cat that ate the equally proverbial canary.  
  
"And your greatness is heavily endowed with godlike powers." Drufus said.  
  
"Well what are you waiting for, go find the stone." Glory said waving them away.  
  
Four hours later Drufus returned to the suite.  
  
"Your amazing brightness, we have the stone and it will be here soon." he told Glory.  
  
"The wall crumble and fall the green walks through the golden, the clock still goes backwards." the manager no longer had his gag in so he was muttering nonsense again.  
  
"Yes, they will but you got it wrong, darling, it'll be the gold walking through the green." Glory said with a smile.  
  
"No green through golden, there is no other way, but the clock going forward." the manager said looking up at Glory  
  
"The stone! Where is it!" Glory yelled angrily.  
  
"It is here magnificently radiant one." said another demon coming forward holding a glowing green gem.  
  
"Goody, goody." Glory said smiling and almost bouncing up and down.  
  
She snatched the gem from the demon, "Gather round minions, we're going on a field trip." she said with a smile.  
  
A dozen of the demons gathered round her and she concentrated on the stone which glowed a bright purple as it absorbed the power being feed into it. Suddenly there was a noiseless pop and a shimmer and the group vanished.  
  
"Pop goes the weasel, bang goes the clock, poof goes the golden, ohoh goes the green and don't goes the platinum." the manager said still tied up.  
  
There was a noiseless pop and Glory and her minions were suddenly standing in the middle of a square with a dozen or so people looking at them.  
  
"This way." Glory said striding off to the right.  
  
"Where are we going your powerfulness?" Drufus asked.  
  
"The local ale supplier around the corner." Glory said.  
  
"For what reason, your greatness?" the demon beside Drufus asked.  
  
"Help, to set a trap." Glory answered.  
  
Spike and Dawn were walking down a street that looked like it came from an old black and white movie.  
  
"Spike!" came a call from behind them, Spike and Dawn swung round to see a badly dressed green skinned demon with purple horns sprouting from either temple and pure blue eyes.  
  
"Jimmy!" Spike said, to Dawn's ears he sounded very happy.  
  
"Man, it's been a lifetime, come on there's a pub round the corner that serves demons, they serve a wonderful pint of blood and a terrific pint of motor oil." Jimmy said with a huge smile, "Bet they'll even serve the half-pint here."  
  
"Yea, Dawn?" Spike said looking at her.  
  
"Okay, lets go." she said with just a little resignation in her voice.  
  
They both followed Jimmy down the street and round into a small alleyway, where a dozen scabby demons jumped them.  
  
"Her gloriousness has demanded you to be taken to her."  
  
To Be Continued. 


	8. Chapter 7 - The Trouble With Travelling ...

Title -Timeless 7: The Trouble With Travelling In Time.  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless VII: The Trouble With Travelling In Time.  
  
"Jimmy, you utter bastard, I'll get you for this." Spike yelled at his former friend as they were dragged away by Glory's minions.  
  
"Sorry mate they offered me a better deal." Jimmy didn't really sound sorry at all.  
  
"Get your hands off me!" Dawn screamed at the minions., here eyes glowed green but before she could send the minions somewhere else, the one who seemed to be in charge took a small club out of his robe and hit her over the head causing her to lose consciousness.  
  
"NO!" screamed Spike, his scream was met with a small amount of surprise and a club to the head as well. Spike should have lost consciousness too but for some reason he didn't, but one could never call Spike a slow learner, he decided to play along so he faked unconsciousness and let his body go limp as the minions dragged them away.  
  
Unfortunately for Spike pretending to be unconscious meant that he couldn't keep his eyes open, he knew they were bundled into a car and driven for about twenty minutes then dragged out of the car and into a building and up several flights of stairs.  
  
When Spike risked opening one of his eyes he could see that his surroundings were very lush. That was something he remembered about Glory, her love for lavish housing.  
  
The minions proceeded to chain them up to some rafters so their feet were just on the floor, Dawn was still out cold and Spike was growing tired of pretending.  
  
"Wake up, kiddies." came Glory's voice.  
  
Spike heard her heels clicking over the linoleum floor towards them then he felt a hot pain across his cheek his eyes flew open to reveal his startled eyes to Glory.  
  
"Hello." Glory said with a happy smile.  
  
"What do you want bitch?" Spike spat blood at her, lucky for him he missed her.  
  
"Just what's mine. The Key." she answered cheerfully.  
  
Glory walked over to stand in front of Dawn she lifted her head up by her chin.  
  
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" Dawn was barely whispering but her voice carried the same tone as Glory's did when she got angry. Glory actually managed to looked shocked as she quickly removed her hand and took a step back.  
  
"You little worm." Glory said, still slightly shocked.  
  
Dawn raised her head and her eyes flew open, they were pure green with no sign of pupil or iris or white, "You let us go and I will send you where you want to go." she said with a smile that was not friendly nor happy.  
  
"You mean that?" Glory said happily.  
  
"Yes." Dawn answered.  
  
"Dawn! No!" Spike exclaimed.  
  
"Be quite vampire." Glory yelled at him.  
  
"Will you let us go?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Yes, yes of course." Glory motioned to the minions to unchain them.  
  
Dawn scowled at her and the chains holding her and Spike vanished. The minions looked worried.  
  
"You coulda done that at anytime?" Spike asked.  
  
"Yes." Dawn answered simply.  
  
"Now I want to go back to my home." Glory said, her voice was almost demanding.  
  
"I'll take you home." Dawn said as she took a step or two towards Glory, she had a very menacing look in her pure green eyes.  
  
Dawn leaped at Glory knocking her off her feet with such force that they went sliding across the floor and through the wall. The wall was the only one that faced the outside and so they began to fall down the four stories towards the ground.  
  
Dawn concentrated as they fell and they vanished less than three feet off the ground.  
  
Back in the hotel room the minions had rushed to the window to make sure that their god was okay, when they saw them disappear they began running round in a blind panic.  
  
Spike ran to the window, although he was fairly sure he knew what had happened, he still had to make sure.  
  
"Geez Dawn, I hope you're alright." he said to himself.  
  
"I'm fine Spike." came Dawn's voice from behind him. Spike spun round in amazement and ended up with Dawn in his arms.  
  
"Where is out mistress?" demanded Drufus.  
  
"Now, that is a long story, but to cut it short she is right were she should be." Dawn went on to tell the minions what she had done.  
  
It turned out that what she had done was she had been able to manipulate the matter in Glory's mind and made her forget everything back to the time just before she was first banished to earth to live out her life in the body of a human male named Ben. she had then merged both Glory's together and put them both into the body of Ben, who she knew would someday be killed by Giles.  
  
"I never want to manipulate minds ever again." she said to Spike, "It's far too draining and it gives me a splitting headache."  
  
"We will bring the gloriousness back little girl." said Drufus like a small child.  
  
"No you won't." Dawn said spinning round on them her eyes glowed green and the minions all vanished.  
  
"And where exactly did you send them?" Spike asked with interest.  
  
"Where they wanted to go, back to Glory's hell dimension." Dawn said with a smile.  
  
"Well then, what say we go find Jimmy and scare him into his next life? " Spike asked.  
  
"Is that really what you want to do?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Yes, then we head back to our own time, coz time travel with you can be dangerous." Spike said with a smile.  
  
"Yea well at least the temporal ripples are very minor and I don't think I will need to change anything." Dawn said looking round at the damaged hotel suite.  
  
"Yea that might be a good thing coz if you did Glory might come back again." Spike said heading towards the door. He paused in the doorway and looked back at Dawn, "What's up?"  
  
"I was thinking, if Giles killed Ben and as a by-product Glory then how did she end up in the body of General Gellar five hundred years later?" Dawn stood in the middle of the damage and looked confused.  
  
"Well could you time travelling have done anything?" Spike asked walking back to her.  
  
"No, I don't." Dawn paused, "Oh my god, I've got it!"  
  
"What?" Spike asked looking a little worried.  
  
"Glory was originally banished to earth into the body of Sarah Gellar in the year 2486, then she came after me and then I put her into Ben's body after I took her memories of being in the future, then Giles killed her through killing Ben." Dawn sounded a little shocked at that revelation.  
  
"Okay, here's my question, what happened to General Gellar?" Spike asked putting his arm around Dawn's shoulders and steering her towards the exit.  
  
"I-I don't know." Dawn stammered.  
  
They wandered round 1921 Switzerland for the next few hour until dawn was almost upon them and Dawn suggested that they should be going.  
  
They were just about to leave when Spike spotted Jimmy.  
  
"Hang on a sec, Dawn." he said running towards the green skinned demon, Spike bowled into Jimmy knocking him off his feet, "I said I'd get you for selling us out." he growled.  
  
"Hey I had no choice." Jimmy whimpered.  
  
"My arse you didn't." Spike said as he punched jimmy in the face a couple of times.  
  
"Spike, let him up, people are beginning to stare." came Dawn's voice from behind him.  
  
Spike reluctantly hoped off Jimmy and the demon got to his feet.  
  
"Hey, if it's any comfort I was gonna try and rescue you." he said.  
  
"No that is not a comfort." Spike snapped at him, "And if your blood didn't taste so foul I'd drain you dry right here and now."  
  
"Spike we have to go." Dawn said, "Now!"  
  
She held her hand out to him, he took it and Dawn concentrated.  
  
They both glowed and with a flash that wasn't a flash they vanished .  
  
They had been back in their own time for almost three days and Spike was still fuming over what Jimmy had done.  
  
"Spike, he got what was coming to him, you know that." Dawn said.  
  
"Yea, it still bugs me though." Spike said as he paced the floor of their crypt.  
  
"Spike." Dawn said.  
  
"Yea?" he stopped his pacing and looked at her.  
  
Dawn raised her eyebrows suggestively.  
  
To alleviate Spike's tension they made love, for the first time, for the millionth, it didn't matter, they were together here and now and that was all that mattered.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	9. Chapter 8 - Bad Legislation

Title -Timeless 8: Bad Legislation.  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless VIII: Bad Legislation.  
  
19 July 2523 Global Congress Building Geneva Switzerland  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been brought to the attention of this government that there are creatures that are walking among us that seem human but are not." A man standing on a stage at the front of the room spoke into the microphone. The badge on his jacket read 'Bob Jones, Chairperson, Department of Citizenry'.  
  
"Excuse me, Bob, but to what are you referring?" asked a man seated to Jones' left.  
  
"Mr Speaker, I am referring to the creatures of myth, the creatures that inhabit the night and the darkness." Jones paused for effect, "I am referring to Vampires, Werewolves and Demons."  
  
"Are you including that woman in the States, what was her name. Dawn, the woman who should be dead but isn't?" this question came from the blonde woman on Jones' right.  
  
"Madam President, we have no idea what her powers are or how she is still alive, so my answer to that question a most definite yes." Jones said looking directly at her.  
  
"And what of General Gellar, have the troops located her?" The Speaker asked.  
  
"Sir, the military is still investigating her disappearance." said a general in the front row of the government members seating.  
  
"But you have no leads?" this was from the President.  
  
"No, Sir, we do not, we have learned that she did in fact capture this Dawn person, but it seems she has escaped and we are missing four highly trained marines that were guarding her at the time." the general answered.  
  
"This is all fine and well but what are we to do about these creatures?" Jones said trying to get back on topic.  
  
"What do you suggest?" The Speaker asked.  
  
"Well, Mr Speaker I suggest that we pass a resolution making them illegal and have a standing order to terminate on sight." Jones said, this was the best solution his team of experts had been able to come up with.  
  
"Very well, but the resolution will need to be passed in a public forum." The President said before turning to her aide, "Prepare a public vote on this resolution set the poll date for late August."  
  
The aide nodded, got up and left the room, The President turned back to the gathered government members.  
  
"Well if Mr Jones id finished?" she looked at Jones, who nodded, "We will adjourn for the week."  
  
24 July 2523 The Grant Family Crypt Restfield Cemetery Sunnydale California United States of America  
  
"Spike!" Dawn called to her partner.  
  
"Yea?" the platinum haired vampire called back.  
  
"Have you seen the newspaper headlines?" Dawn called.  
  
"Nope, why?" Spike asked coming up behind her.  
  
"Coz we have big trouble." Dawn said holding the paper out to him.  
  
Spike read the headline out loud, "Public opinion sought over new anti- demonic creature laws." Spike looked up from the paper and met Dawn's sparkling eyes, "Oh shit."  
  
There was suddenly a hammering at the door, Spike and Dawn looked at each other.  
  
"Let me in Spike, I know you're in there!" came a voice from outside.  
  
"What the hell's she doing here?" Dawn asked, Spike just shrugged.  
  
"Do we let her in?" Dawn asked glancing a the door.  
  
"Why not she'll just knock it down again if we don't." Spike answered walking over to the door and pulling it open.  
  
Standing there framed by the doorframe and the moonlight was a young woman, no more that twenty years old.  
  
"Come in, Jennifer." Spike said.  
  
Jennifer Harris was the latest slayer, and by a major co-incidence the last living descendant of Xander and Anya Harris, two of the original Scooby Gang. Since Buffy each following slayer has had a tight knit group of friends who have helped in the battle with the forces of evil and darkness. Dawn and Spike were a psudo part of this latest group, they had first met Jennifer when she had been hunting and almost staked Spike, but fortunately for him, Dawn intervened and managed to convince Jennifer to leave him alone..  
  
"Have you seen the headlines?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"Yea we saw em." Spike answered, "Did the Council know anything about this?"  
  
"No and that's got them worried, they can't seem to get in touch with *any* their contacts in the Global Government." Jennifer said taking a seat beside the TV screen.  
  
"So we go see your watcher?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Got it in one." Jennifer said with a smile.  
  
"Right come on let's go." Spike said herding the two women out the door and closing it behind them.  
  
From the shadows of the crypt came a quiet feminine voice, "Yes run and plan Pet, I will have my revenge on you yet."  
  
The gang was gathered in the Millennium Bookstore in downtown Sunnydale. The store, owned by Jennifer's watcher, James Cole-Pierce, was filled with texts both ancient and new and, in a locked back room, hundreds of Watcher Diaries including those of the most famous watcher to date, Rupert Giles.  
  
Also there were Jonathan Bailey, Jennifer's boyfriend and a former high school football captain. Gillian Spence, Jennifer's best girl friend and twelfth level witch. Janet Del Noya, Gillian's girlfriend also a witch but only a tenth level one. James Coburn, Jennifer's best guy friend and former sergeant in the Global Military's high school recruit team. and Xenia Triton, James' girlfriend and a half Spine'ch demon.  
  
They were seated round a table in a secluded part of the store, which despite the late hour was still open, the watcher was talking, "The Council has sent investigators to find out what has happened to their contacts and they expect to have an answer in a week or so, but in the mean time they sent orders for us to continue to do our job and fight the demons and other creatures."  
  
"But what about this bloody piece of legislature?" Spike asked.  
  
"They said to wait and see." Cole-Pierce said looking a little unhappy.  
  
"Now, that sound's like the Watchers Council of old, I wondered how long it would take them to slip back into old habits." Dawn said with a smile.  
  
"Excuse me, but do you have the chronicles of the lost relic?" the question came from a short man standing at the end of the nearest bookshelf.  
  
"Yes, we do." Cole-Pierce answered, "Follow me." with that he walked off towards the other end of the store.  
  
"So, what do you two think of the new legislation?" Jonathan asked.  
  
"Same as Xenia here, I'd imagine." James said.  
  
"If she's against it 100 percent then yea I feel the same as her." Spike answered slouching in his seat.  
  
"Dawn, did you know that you are mentioned in the law by name?" Xenia asked.  
  
"You're kidding!" Dawn exclaimed, "How did you find out?"  
  
"Mom's got governmental contacts." Xenia answered. Her father, a full Spine'ch demon, had been killed by a Global Military eradication team about five years ago but her mom had managed to keep her mixed heritage a secret, "She managed to get a full copy of the law and she let me see it."  
  
"What about me?" Spike asked.  
  
"Nope not a peep." Xenia told him. Spike actually managed to look hurt at that, "Sorry."  
  
"Madam President you must have this legislation passed with in the next two weeks." said the overly handsome man in The Earth President's office.  
  
"I'm sorry but I cannot rush this, I need to have the public support." she told him.  
  
"You can use the special executive powers that the global constitution gives you." the man told her.  
  
"No I cannot that would be a breach of presidential ethics, and after the fiasco with the last president and his secretary, I will not risk that." She said standing, "I think it is time for you to leave."  
  
"Just one more thing Madam President." The man said as he got up and walked round her desk, "Your computer password what is it?" By this point he was standing behind her, he placed his hand on her head and twisted until there was a crack.  
  
"Thank you." the man said only he was no longer a man, he now looked exactly like the President. She placed her hand on the real president and muttered something, the Presidents body smouldered then with a poof disappeared.  
  
The replacement President sat in the chair and tapped at her computer keyboard, she was entering the access code for the special presidential executive powers act.  
  
"Note, on this date at this time, the anti-demonic creature law was enacted under the special executive powers act." she paused, "Message to all law enforcement agencies, any and all demonic creatures are to be shot and killed on sight and bodies, if there are any, are to be incinerated."  
  
To Be Continued. 


	10. Chapter 9 - Discovery

Title -Timeless 9: Discovery.  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless IX: Discovery.  
  
25 July 2523 Presidential Suite Governmental Headquarters Geneva Switzerland  
  
"Note, on this date at this time, the anti-demonic creature law was enacted under the special executive powers act." she paused, "Message to all law enforcement agencies, any and all demonic creatures are to be shot and killed on sight and bodies, if there are any, are to be incinerated."  
  
"Your memo has been sent and received is there anything else I can help you with Madam President?" the computer's male VIS asked. The Vocal Imitation Software was still a relatively new software program but it had quickly become an integral part of the bureaucracy that was the Earth Government.  
  
"Yes, find me an address, Jennifer Harris, location Sunnydale California, United States." she said.  
  
"One Jennifer Joanne Harris resides at Apartment 23, 231 Hudson Avenue, Sunnydale, California, United States of America, there are other listings for Jennifer Harris but this is the only one in Sunnydale, California, United States of America." the VIS answered.  
  
"Good." The President stood up and began to walk towards the door, by the time she reached it she was no longer the President, she was now a woman with blonde hair down to the middle of her back and an evil look in her vampire yellow eyes.  
  
"Jennifer!" came the cry from James Cole-Pierce.  
  
"What is it?" she asked, most of the group had broken up soon after the President's announcement of the passing of the anti-demonic creature laws, only Cle-Pierce and Jennifer were left in the now closed store.  
  
"Your citizenship record has been accessed and your home address was downloaded." he told her.  
  
"Can you find out by who?" Jennifer asked as she walked up behind her watcher.  
  
"I have a call put into the Council, they will have the resources to find out." Cole-Pierce.  
  
"I am sorry James, but all our resources could not find the exact location of the data access terminal, however we were able to triangulate the approximate geographic location." George Smithe, the head of the Watchers Council, told Jennifer's watcher.  
  
"Where?" Cole-Pierce asked looking at the vidscreen.  
  
"Geneva, Switzerland." Smithe answered.  
  
"GlobalGov? " Cole-Pierce said in a quizzical tone.  
  
"Look's like it." Smithe said before turning his head to look at someone or something off screen, "Well James I must be going, we have a demonic spawning ground in the Amazon, we have to dispatch a disposal team."  
  
"Good-bye, George." Cole-Pierce said.  
  
"Good-bye James." Smithe replied hanging up the vidphone.  
  
"You heard that?" Cole-Pierce asked his charge.  
  
"Yup, so what do we do now?" Jennifer asked getting up from the chair she was sitting in.  
  
"I suggest you go home and get your mother out of there and over to my place." Cole-Pierce said, "It will be safe until we find out who accessed your file."  
  
"VIS on." The President of earth said as she walked into her office, of course this is not the real President but the impostor and she is back for more information, "Access addresses for the following people, James Cole- Pierce, Jonathan Bailey, Gillian Spence and James Coburn."  
  
"James Cole-Pierce, 1430 Redruth Drive, Jonathan Bailey, 125 Rivelo Drive, Gillian Spence, 80 Hadley Street and James Coburn, Flat 4, 2 6th Street, all located in Sunnydale, California, United States of America." the VIS answered.  
  
"Madam President?" came a voice from the office door.  
  
"Yes, Mr Jones?" the false President said looking up from her computer.  
  
"I wanted to thank you for pushing through my law so quickly." Jones said as he walked towards the desk.  
  
"Door close." the false president said, the door promptly closed, "And lock."  
  
"Madam President what are you doing?" Jones asked with a seductive look in his eyes as he took a seat opposite the false President.  
  
"I wished to speak with you in private." she said getting up from her seat and walking towards Jones with her hand out as if to shake his.  
  
"Why, whatever would you want to talk about in private?" Jones asked with a smile.  
  
"You are a fool." the false President said as she morphed into the blonde vampire she really is.  
  
"Holy shit!" Jones exclaimed as he tried to move away from her.  
  
"Move and I will rip out your spine and feed it to you." the vampire said with no hint of emotion.  
  
Jones tripped over the edge of the carpet and fell to the floor, the vampire pounced on him biting and draining his blood in half the time it would normally take.  
  
She stood up licking her lips and running her tongue over her enlarged canines.  
  
"VIS?" she asked, her voice was that of the President  
  
"Yes Madam President?" the VIS answered.  
  
"Place a vidphone call to the following person, The Millennium Bookstore." the vampire requested as she morphed back into the President.  
  
"Call in progress." the VIS told her as she sat down.  
  
"Millennium Bookstore, how can I help you?" the male counter person asked.  
  
"The owner please." the false President asked.  
  
"One moment please." the man said putting her on hold.  
  
"God could they have worse music for those on hold?" she asked herself.  
  
"James Cole-Pierce, how may I help you?" Cole-Pierce asked when she had been connected to his terminal, "Oh Madam President, what can I do for the President of Earth?"  
  
"I need a very rare book, The Ma'leck-Nuva, can you get it?" she asked him.  
  
"Why, yes I could but that is a restricted book it will take ten days at the very least to procure a copy." Cole-Pierce said with a slightly concerned look on his face.  
  
"I can get you special dispensation to by-pass the restrictions." the false President told him.  
  
"Very well I will place an order right away." Cole-Pierce said tapping at his keyboard, "Is there anything else Madam President?"  
  
"No, that will be all, I will be in LA within the next three days I will make a detour and pick the book up then." she said before she turned off the vidphone.  
  
"Why would the President want that specific book?" Cole-Pierce said to himself.  
  
"Maybe she wants to work on her tan?" came Spike's voice from behind him.  
  
"I wish you wouldn't do that." Cole-Pierce said while turning round.  
  
"Na, bugger it, that's half the fun." Spike answered with a smile.  
  
"Spike, will you stop scaring the nice watcher, please." came Dawn's voice from behind the nearest bookshelf.  
  
"Is there something I can help you two with?" Cole-Pierce asked them while looking straight at Spike.  
  
"We need a text on demonic transposition, titled The Sha'Run-Tee." Dawn said still looking through the books.  
  
"So I'll waive the ten day waiting period for that book then shall I?" he asked still looking at Spike.  
  
"No, we can afford to wait." Dawn said coming out from behind the shelf, "Can't we Spike?"  
  
"Yea, we can." Spike said.  
  
"Well, while you are here, we have a small problem." Cole-Pierce told them.  
  
"What?" Dawn asked looking intrigued.  
  
"It seems some one accessed the citizen records of myself, Jennifer, Gillian and James, someone in the Global Government." Cole-Pierce said looking worried.  
  
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Dawn asked as she walked over to stand beside Spike.  
  
"No, but whoever did it may have been looking for you." Cole-Pierce said looking between them, "I just thought you should know so you can be careful."  
  
4 August 2523 Presidential Limousine Approaching the outer reaches of Sunnydale California United States of America  
  
"Were are we going Madam President?" asked her security co-ordinator.  
  
"The Millennium Bookstore." she answered.  
  
"I would have liked to have been informed of this plan earlier." he told her.  
  
"I will do what I want when I want." the President snapped.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	11. Chapter 10 - Approaching Danger

Title -Timeless 10: Approaching Danger.  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless X: Approaching Danger.  
  
4 August 2523 Presidential Limousine Pulling up outside The Millennium Bookstore. Sunnydale California United States of America  
  
"What is it that you are getting here, Madam President?" her security co- ordinator asked.  
  
"A book that this store said they could get for me." she snapped.  
  
"Why this store?" the security co-ordinator asked.  
  
"Because I chose it." she was getting angry, the security co-ordinator couldn't remember the last time he had seen her angry.  
  
"Madam President? Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
"Open the door." she demanded.  
  
"Well, looks like we have VIP's coming." called the counter person to Cole- Pierce.  
  
"Right, Jennifer, please get this stuff out of here." he said turning to the slayer he was charged with training.  
  
"Already done." she said picking up the last of the books and carrying them to the private area out the back.  
  
"Ah, Mr Cole-Pierce, do you have the book I ordered?" the President asked as she approached him.  
  
"Yes, ma'am I do." he answered as he moved behind the counter and got a brown wrapped package from the bottom shelf, he thumped the book down on the counter and slid it to the President, who ripped open the package to reveal a very ancient book. "You do know this is written in Vampiric, and most cannot read it?"  
  
"Yes I do, thank you." the President answered, "And here is the payment." she said sliding a cash card across the counter, "And now I'm afraid I must be going, I have a very busy schedule."  
  
"I can imagine." Cole-Pierce said as the President walked towards the door, "Good-bye, and thank you for shopping here."  
  
"Thank you very much." the President said walking out the door.  
  
"Well that was different." Cole-Pierce said to himself.  
  
"The transport pad. Now!" the President snapped as she got in the limo.  
  
"Yes ma'am!" the marine in the drivers seat replied.  
  
"May I ask what you intend to do about the rest of your schedule in this country?" her security co-ordinator asked.  
  
"Cancel everything." she answered.  
  
"This is most irregular, Madam President." the security co-ordinator told her.  
  
"Do I look like I care?" she asked looking at him.  
  
"We will be at the Transport Pad in ten seconds." came the driver's voice.  
  
"Madam President, I urge you to tell me what you are planning." the security co-ordinator almost demanded.  
  
"NO!" she cried as her face lost cohesion and morphed back into it's normal vampiric form, she lunged at the security co-ordinator biting his neck and draining him of blood.  
  
"We are here Madam Pres." the driver said turning round and seeing what she had done, he screamed as the vampire lunged at him.  
  
Seconds later the President boarded the Transport Shuttle, which took off shortly after, leaving behind the two shrivelled bodies of her companions.  
  
"What can she do with that book?" Dawn asked Jennifer. They were in Spike's crypt, it was midday and Jennifer had brought them some food, well in Spike's case some blood, from the nearest Willie's Place. Since the early twenty-first century Willie's Place had become the biggest franchise in the country, catering for both the human and non-human population, Jennifer had no idea how the latest law would affect the turnover.  
  
"I don't know Cole-Pierce is looking into it." Jennifer answered, "Have you seen the news reports?"  
  
"No, what's in them?" Spike asked from his seat opposite them.  
  
"There have been over two thousand demonic extermination since the law went into force, but there have also been a couple of hundred human deaths," Jennifer snorted, "Apparently they were 'demonic sympathizers' it's getting rough out there, I mean I'm meant to kill the forces of darkness but this law means that they're killing any and all demons."  
  
"I'm just glad they haven't gotten this far yet." Spike said.  
  
"The Watchers Council is pulling strings, they're trying to protect the demons on the side of good, they're having only little success." Jennifer said.  
  
"VIS, cancel everything and deny all calls." the President said as she walked into her office.  
  
"Confirmed, will there be anything else, Madam President?" the VIS answered.  
  
"Yes, can you access historic records from the year 2026?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, Madam President, which event did you want to view?" the VIS said.  
  
"A preternatural disturbance in Sunnydale, California." she said sitting in her chair.  
  
"One such disturbance recorded." the VIS answered.  
  
"Display location." she demanded sitting forward in her seat.  
  
A map of Sunnydale popped up on the VIS screen with a blinking red dot over the location in question. The location matched perfectly a portal opened by a vampire in 2026.  
  
"Book a Transport Shuttle to that location, departing immediately." the President ordered.  
  
"You know what the book does?" Spike asked. They were all gathered in the Millennium Bookstore discussing the book brought by the President.  
  
"The book is the same one a vampire used to open a portal, here in Sunnydale, in the year 2026." Cole-Pierce said.  
  
"Angelus." Spike said looking at Dawn.  
  
"Buffy." Dawn whispered.  
  
23 September 2026 Wolfram & Hart Branch Office Sunnydale California United States of America  
  
"Angelus, you cannot do this!" Buffy yelled to the former love of her life.  
  
"Wanna bet, lover?" Angelus yelled back, they were standing on a catwalk about twenty feet above the interdimensional portal that was threatening to destroy most of Sunnydale.  
  
"I seem to be doing it." Angelus came at Buffy with his sword.  
  
Buffy swung her own sword up and blocked his blow, "Wolfram and Hart are using you, you know that don't you?"  
  
"No, I'm using them, they think I'll bring them enough power to take control of the world." Angelus said with a sneer, "They want power, I want Hell on Earth."  
  
"You're insane!" Buffy cried as Angelus thrust his sword at her and she fell back to avoid it.  
  
"Just like you made my sweetheart." Angelus roared.  
  
"Darla did that to herself, she wanted to get that power and it forced her over the edge." Buffy yelled at him.  
  
"And Dru, Why did you kill her?" Angelus asked her, his eyes were actually glowing bright blue with the power he had absorbed from the interdimensional trigger.  
  
"She asked for it, she said you were torturing her for losing Spike." Buffy said getting up, she found she could not meet his eyes anymore, if she did she felt him crawling into her mind and trying to control it.  
  
"But she didn't lose Spike, did she? He fell in love with first you then Dawn." Angelus was showing his anger and hatred.  
  
"I will close that portal." Buffy yelled at him.  
  
"And I will stop you." Angelus yelled back.  
  
Angelus ran at Buffy with his sword held at such an angle that if it hit her it would mortally wound her. Buffy sidestepped causing him to overshoot her and topple off the catwalk, but as he was shooting past Buffy his hand latched onto her arm and pulled her with him.  
  
"NO!" came Dawn's scream from below as for the second time in her life she watched her sister dive off a platform and into a dimensional portal.  
  
The gang who were gathered underneath the portal saw Buffy, trapped in the separate gravitational forces of it, push away from Angelus who almost immediately burst into flame and turned to dust.  
  
"Oh god not again." Willow sobbed as she turned to Tara, they fell to the floor in a tight embrace of shared sorrow, next to them Anya and Xander collapsed as well, of the gathered group Dawn and Spike were the only one's showing little emotion, however inside they were dieing.  
  
The portal, without the power of the trigger to sustain it, collapsed eventually vanishing completely, however unlike the portal into which Buffy had jumped 25 years earlier, this one left behind no body to be buried nor resurrected.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	12. Chapter 11 - Another Gift

Title -Timeless 11: Another Gift.  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless XI: Another Gift.  
  
5 August 2523 Presidential Limousine Pulling up outside the main TriLo warehouse. Sunnydale California United States of America  
  
"Here we go ma'am." the driver said looking round, "and may I offer my condolences over the untimely deaths of your last driver and security co- ordinator."  
  
"Thank you, it was an unexpected turn of events." the President said, "Could you please accompany me into the warehouse."  
  
"Certainly ma'am." he answered.  
  
The driver got out and opened the door for the President, who promptly hopped out and began walking towards the warehouse, the way she walked was almost lion like, almost like she was stalking prey. Of course this was almost exactly what she was doing.  
  
When she reached the main entrance she yanked the door open and stalked in followed by the driver. Inside were several dozen vampires setting up a catwalk and scaffolding that was about twenty feet off the floor.  
  
"What the fuck!" cried the driver as three vampires jumped him.  
  
"Don't harm him, we need him to open the portal." the President said as she morphed back into her normal vampire guise.  
  
"W-who a-are you?" stammered the driver.  
  
"I am Darla, and you, my sweet, are a sacrifice." she answered with a smile.  
  
The driver screamed as he was hauled away and locked in a holding room.  
  
"Is everything on schedule?" Darla asked the nearest vampire.  
  
"Yes, master, the scaffolding will be ready for the sacrifice at the time you wanted." he said keeping just out of arms reach of Darla, he knew that she was almost completely insane, for the last 500 years she had worked towards one goal, finishing the work of her lost love, Angelus.  
  
"Get the clerics and get that sacrifice anointed." she said stalking towards the base of the scaffolding.  
  
"Where did the portal open?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"It was a branch of a law firm called Wolfram & Hart, it was in the south of town." Dawn answered, she was fighting the pangs of sadness that she still felt 500 years after her sister had given her life again for the world.  
  
"I think it was brought out by TriLo, they tore down the offices and put up a warehouse." Spike told them, Dawn looked at him and the question in her eyes asked why he had kept track of that, "I thought Darla might resurface and try to finish Angelus' work, but there hasn't been a peep from her for almost 400 years."  
  
"So why would the President want to open a portal?" Gillian asked.  
  
"She must be under the influence of a demon of some sort." Cole-Pierce answered.  
  
"A Thrall Demon?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"No, this is out of type for them, could be a Chu'Chuka, they always want to destroy the world, not to mention destroying every demon dimension." her watcher said.  
  
"Why would they want to do that?" Jonathan asked.  
  
"They have a lot of repressed anger." Spike said with a small smile.  
  
"Do we have any idea when the ritual needs to be performed in order to open the portal?" Gillian asked.  
  
"Well Angelus opened the portal at about nine-thirty at night." Dawn said.  
  
"Then we have a bit of time to find a way to stop her." Jennifer said looking at her timepiece, "It's five-twenty now, so lets hit the books."  
  
"We'll go scout the warehouse see if they are there." Dawn said as she and Spike got up from their seats.  
  
"Okay but no heroics we want you two alive to help us when we take on the President." Cole-Pierce said.  
  
"You got it." Spike said as he followed Dawn out the door.  
  
Outside Dawn turned to Spike, "If she opens a portal it's going to take slayer's blood to close it."  
  
"I know, we have to find the President and stop her." Spike said his face getting a determined look.  
  
"Right, do we go get armed up?" Dawn asked as they began walking.  
  
"Yea, be a good idea." Spike said as they headed towards his crypt.  
  
"So what do you think is controlling the President?" Dawn said trying to start a conversation.  
  
"Dunno, could be anything, that watcher won't find the demon responsible, but he may find a way to stop the President." Spike said, Dawn could tell he was thinking of Buffy and Angel, both had died because he couldn't help them.  
  
"It will be okay." Dawn said laying a hand on his arm.  
  
"Is the sacrifice ready?" Darla asked as she walked into the office.  
  
"Yes, ma'am, he is." the vampire cleric said indicating the unconscious driver.  
  
"Good get him up to the top of the scaffolding we begin in twenty minutes."  
  
"Spike." Dawn called him in a stage whisper.  
  
"Yea?" he replied.  
  
"It's Darla, she's here in the office." Dawn was taking a peek through the office window.  
  
"Shit." Spike swore, "We have to go tell the others."  
  
"We can't take her?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Not a chance, she'd kill us in a heartbeat." Spike said adamantly, "Well one of your heartbeats anyway."  
  
They quietly headed off to get Jennifer and the gang.  
  
They didn't have to walk very far, they met the gang about five minutes walk from the warehouse.  
  
"What did you find?" Cole-Pierce asked, he was carrying a rather long broadsword with another sword attached to his back. The rest of the gang were similarly armed, Jennifer, however, had the most weaponry, she had three swords a crossbow and several stake launchers.  
  
Spike and Dawn were even more armed, they had between them five swords two crossbows, four bottles of holy water, three stakes each and two launchers fully loaded, plus Spike had in his coat pocket a mini-uzi with bullets made of melted crosses and the hollow tips filled with holy water.  
  
"Darla, she's there now preparing a sacrifice and she has the book." Spike said.  
  
"The President is working for Darla?" Gillian asked.  
  
"No, I heard a rumour that Darla had some dealings with Dracula before the Watchers Council was able to contain him." Spike said, "The rumour was that she had learned some Gypsy tricks, including the morphing of facial features."  
  
"My god, she could be anyone." Cole-Pierce said.  
  
"O'gre mon-tok see'look new'ay caole me'tok." Darla had a knife that was big enough to be classed as a small sword at the driver's throat.  
  
Her vampire minions were standing on the ground chanting the same line over and over again, "A koo'ne Ku'chaka."  
  
Darla slit the drivers throat and watched as the blood dripped down towards the floor. about five feet down it hit a solid object and a blowing ball appeared, Darla looked on and smiled.  
  
"Hey, Blondie, ya forgotten something?" came a voice from behind her.  
  
Darla turned and saw standing before her Jennifer with Spike and Dawn behind her, "You three are going to regret this intrusion."  
  
"It's not just us three." Dawn said pointing towards the ground where the rest of the gang had taken out the vampire minions.  
  
Darla screamed a scream of pure insanity, the last ounce of coherent thoughts in her mind broke and she lost it completely, she ran at Jennifer with her knife drawn, she knocked the now dead driver off the scaffolding.  
  
Jennifer countered Darla's attack with an expertise that only a professional could have. She drove Darla back towards the edge of the scaffolding.  
  
"I cannot kill you, because you can close the portal!" Darla screamed at her, "But I can put you out for the count!"  
  
"Just try it!" Jennifer yelled back as she ran forwards, Darla lowered her knife at the very last moment.  
  
Dawn and Spike both gasped as they saw the tip of the knife emerge from her back.  
  
Jennifer collapsed atop Darla pushing her back over the edge and falling after her.  
  
"NNNOOOO!" screamed Darla as she fell, when she hit the portal she burst into flames and turned to dust.  
  
Jennifer was through all the pain wondering why she hadn't hit the portal yet, she looked up at her feet and saw Spike's hands clasped around her ankles. Her blood dripped from the knife wound and fell into the portal, which fluctuated and belched, spiting out a smoking form before it collapsed entirely.  
  
Dawn and Spike pulled Jennifer up and applied a temporary bandage, they then helped her down to the floor where the rest of the gang were gathered around the smoking form.  
  
"Dawn." Cole-Pierce said very quietly.  
  
"What?" she said.  
  
"You need to come and look at this." he said, still very quiet.  
  
Dawn left Jennifer with Spike and walked over to the foetal form and rolled it over in order to look at it's face.  
  
"Buffy." Dawn gasped.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	13. Chapter 12 - The Return

Title -Timeless 12: The Return  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless XII: The Return.  
  
Cole-Pierce pulled a portable vidphone from his pocket and dialled a number, "We need a doctor, we need one now! Make it one of your special operatives." he said.  
  
"Who did you call?" Spike asked.  
  
"The Watchers Council, they have access to more resources than we do." the watcher answered.  
  
"How long?" sobbed Dawn.  
  
"About ten minutes." he answered.  
  
"I really don't understand how this is possible, you said she was 45 when she entered the portal?" the doctor was asking Spike and Dawn.  
  
"Yes, she was born in 1981 and she entered the portal in 2026." Spike said.  
  
"Well, I don't know what's happened but, I'd have to say, physically she's about 20 years old." the doctor said shaking her head, her brunette hair, cut shoulder length, waved as she did.  
  
Dawn just looked at her in amazement, Spike raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Is she still a slayer?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"I'm having her blood checked now, we should know in about twenty minutes." the doctor answered.  
  
"But how is she?" Dawn managed to ask, she had lost some of the control that she had built up over the past 400 years. Seeing her sister had just been too much.  
  
"She's a little dehydrated and she has yet to regain consciousness, but other than that she seems to be in excellent condition for someone who's 542." the doctor answered.  
  
"So, she's gonna live?" Spike asked as he stood so he could look down on the doctor.  
  
"Yes, defiantly." the doctor said.  
  
Both Spike and Dawn let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Doctor?" came a nurse's voice from behind her.  
  
"Yes?" the doctor answered as she turned round. The doctor and nurse moved away so they could converse in private.  
  
Dawn saw the nurse hand the doctor a manila folder with a small wad of paper in, the doctor opened it and read the first page, then looked up at the nurse. She asked something which Dawn couldn't hear, the nurse nodded in reply, the doctor then walked back towards Dawn and Spike.  
  
"Um, Miss Summers, I need to get a sample of your blood for comparison." the doctor said.  
  
"It's Ms Summers and why?" Dawn asked.  
  
"I need to compare your blood to your sister's." she answered.  
  
"Okay." Dawn said with a small amount of suspicion.  
  
Dawn followed the doctor to a cubical where she drew a vial of blood from her and sent it to the lab for tests.  
  
"And we'll know in about twenty minute if what I suspect is right." the doctor said.  
  
It was twenty two minutes later when a nurse returned with Dawn's blood test results.  
  
The doctor pulled the blood results from the manila folder and held it up next to Buffy's.  
  
"Damn, I was right." the doctor said as she walked towards where Dawn and Spike were sitting.  
  
"Your blood has trace amounts of an unidentifiable energy running through it, presumably from the Key." the doctor said, "And so does your sister's, according to these tests the energy is identical."  
  
"She has Key energy in her?" Spike asked in amazement.  
  
"It certainly looks that way." the doctor answered.  
  
Dawn was about to ask another question when they were interrupted by screams and yells from within Buffy's hospital room, Jennifer ran to the door of the room followed by Spike then Dawn and the doctor.  
  
Just as they reached the door it burst open and a wild eyed Buffy was looking straight into Jennifer's eyes. There was a flicker in Buffy's eyes, as if she recognised something, but then it was gone and Buffy struck out at Jennifer with enough force so that if she had been plain human she would have gone flying across the room, but because she was the slayer she was able to block Buffy's punch.  
  
"Buffy!" cried Dawn as she tried to get close enough to her sister to look in her eyes.  
  
A noise came from Buffy's throat that sounded like "Dawn?"  
  
"Yes, please calm down." Dawn pleaded with her, Buffy was slowly becoming less tense.  
  
"Dawn?" she said again, her voice was slowly coming back too.  
  
"I-I can't believe it's you." Dawn said as she got closer to Buffy.  
  
Buffy roared and struck out at Dawn sending her flying, she would have flown through the wall if Spike hadn't been quick enough to catch her.  
  
The doctor used this distraction to inject Buffy with something Spike assumed to be a sedative.  
  
"That better be strong." he said.  
  
"Strong enough to keep a werewolf out for 36 hours." the doctor said with a small smile before turning to the orderlies, "Why was she not restrained?"  
  
"She's just a girl, how were we to know?" the largest of them said.  
  
"She's a slayer, you idiots." the doctor said, "Now get her back to bed and restrain her."  
  
Dawn was still in Spikes arms she was sobbing into his chest.  
  
It was almost 24 hours later when Buffy began to stir.  
  
"I'll be damned, she shouldn't be stirring yet." the doctor said checking her pulse.  
  
"D-Dawn?" Buffy said with out opening her eyes.  
  
"No, Buffy, I am Doctor Fernadez." the doctor told her gently, "I'll send your sister in soon." The doctor checked Buffy's vital statistics and recorded them on her chart.  
  
"How is she?" came a male voice from the doorway.  
  
Fernandez turned around to see an older man, about 70 or so she reckoned, standing there leaning on a walking cane.  
  
"And who are you?" she asked.  
  
"Someone who wants to know how Buffy is doing." the man said his grey hair went down to the middle of his back and was tied back in a ponytail.  
  
"She's doing fine, Mr." she was trying to get a name.  
  
"Is she awake?" he asked taking a step forward, and ignored the instated question.  
  
"Barely, but you really can't be in here." Fernandez said.  
  
"She saved my life once, she wouldn't mind." the man said.  
  
"Jacques?" Spike said coming up behind the man.  
  
"Spike." the man said with an incredible amount of warmth in his voice.  
  
"You look great for the oldest man alive." Dawn said coming up behind Spike.  
  
Jacques Regnier was only the fourth gatekeeper since the mid fifteen hundreds, he had taken over the mantle of Keeper in 1999 with the help of Buffy and the entire gang, of course neither Spike nor Dawn had been in the group, but Spike was the one who had captured Jacques in the first place, necessitating another round of kick the Spike by Buffy.  
  
The first three Gatekeepers only lived for a little under 150 years each, with the aid of powerful magicks. Jacques had surpassed them in terms of both magickal ability and longevity, this was mainly due to the fact that he was forced, when he became Gatekeeper, to bond directly to the Gatehouse, the building in Boston where all the things that shouldn't be in this reality are held in magickally secured rooms.  
  
Locked in the infinitely big house were creatures like The Kracken, Springheel Jack, The Ghost Herd that rides the sky. Also held in the house is the Flying Dutchman, although this can somehow escape every now and then.  
  
"D-Dawn?" came Buffy's voice almost as soon as she heard her sister.  
  
"Buffy!" Dawn exclaimed as she ran to her bedside.  
  
"W-what h-happened?" Buffy's eyes were open now and she was trying to sit up, Fernandez and Dawn moved to help her.  
  
"What do you remember?" Dawn asked.  
  
"F-fighting Angel, falling, then white, blinding white." Buffy said her voice carried lots of pain, "The only way I could get through was by holding onto your memory."  
  
"That fight was over 400 years ago." Dawn said gently.  
  
Buffy stared at Dawn in shock, "T-then H-how?"  
  
"Did you come back? We don't know." Fernandez said.  
  
"I-I need to rest." Buffy said.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	14. Chapter 13 - Histoy Lesson

Title -Timeless 13: History Lesson  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless XIII: History Lesson.  
  
"After you closed the portal, I never thought I would get over loosing you a second time." Dawn was sitting next to Buffy's hospital bed, almost 12 hours had passed since Buffy had come to and Dawn was filling her in on what she had missed.  
  
"Willow?" Buffy asked taking a spoonful of Jell-O, "Something never change." she thought.  
  
"Willow became a powerful witch who lived to the ripe old age of a hundred and ten, she married Tara as soon as she could, they were together till the end, hey they even passed away at the same time, they stayed in Sunnydale, took over the Magic Box." Dawn said with a small sad smile, "Xander and Anya, were similar, Anya managed to break the official World Record for the oldest person, a hundred and forty, she somehow got her hands on a major multinational magickal supplies company, her dearest fantasy came true, she had more money than she could ever use."  
  
"Xander, did they stay married?" Buffy said as she took a sip of her coke, "This doesn't taste the same."  
  
"They changed the recipe when the FDA banned caffeine." Dawn said, "Xander did indeed stay married to Anya they moved to Washington about ten years after you.you know, he started his own construction company, their motto was 'if a monster trashes your place then we'll fix it' he said it was something you had once told him."  
  
"Yea, about ten years ago. I mean before I jumped, he was repairing our home after that Treesu'lak demon tore out most of the front of it." Buffy said with a small smile.  
  
Dawn matched her smile as she continued, "Giles, passed away about five years after you, he was taken by a pack of vampires, the body was recovered a day later." as she had been saying this her expression had turned to one of sorrow.  
  
"And what have you been up to?" Buffy asked looking deep into Dawn's eyes.  
  
"Where do I start?" Dawn said with a sad smile, "After you jumped I had no way of supporting myself without people finding out that I wasn't aging so Willow and Tara supported me and Spike was always around to defend me against harm, he said he made you a promise."  
  
"Yea, and I never broke it either." Spike said as he entered the room he held a coffee out to Dawn.  
  
"Thanks, when the others passed on we helped each other, I fell in love with him." Dawn said looking sheepish.  
  
"It's okay Dawn, I don't mind." Buffy said with a small smile.  
  
"We lived we watched the world going by and changing, Sunnydale is now a major metropolis, the Hellmouth was sealed in a special titanium reinforced concrete then bound by the Wicca leadership." Spike said.  
  
"The world had two more world wars before coming to it's senses and forming a global government, since then the world has known peace." Dawn told her sipping her coffee, "Humanity has made it to Mars, we had tried to go there to escape the Earth Government, they found out about me and as a by-product Spike after they got the ability to track it's citizens."  
  
"I assume that something happened?" Buffy made it a question.  
  
"Yes, the Earth wouldn't let her go, the entire liner was forced back to earth." Spike said, "We went on the run after that, the Earth Government sent a platoon of marines after us."  
  
"I found I had the ability to move myself through dimensions, I actually found out by accidentally travelling back to before mom died." Dawn told her sister, "But when I returned Spike told me that he had found out that we were in Switzerland in the 1920's so we set out to travel back to ensure that history was fulfilled."  
  
"And that's when the military caught up with us, they threw us into a prison, we escaped and eventually went back in time." Spike said.  
  
"Do you two know you're finishing each other's sentences?" Buffy asked looking amused.  
  
Dawn and Spike just smiled, they had discussed it and decided not to tell Buffy about Glory and the circumstances surrounding her 'resurrection'.  
  
"That girl I saw earlier, who was she?" Buffy asked, "Or did I imagine her?"  
  
"No you didn't imagine her." Spike said.  
  
"She's the current slayer, Jennifer Harris." Dawn finished for him.  
  
"Harris? Not . Xander and Anya?" Buffy asked in astonishment.  
  
"Yup, their last surviving descendant." Dawn answered.  
  
Buffy let out a laugh at that.  
  
"I don't know what to tell you, Mr Cole-Pierce." Fernandez said to the watcher, "She is a medical and magical miracle."  
  
"So, she's still a slayer?" he asked.  
  
"Yes but she is also something else, something like the Key." Fernandez told him.  
  
Cole-Pierce just turned and looked in through the window at trio reminiscing about the past.  
  
"The Guardians created Dawn from Buffy." The Gatekeeper said coming up behind them, "They took a part of her and made it into Dawn, this meant that she is bonded to Buffy in a way that goes far beyond any other bonding in history."  
  
"So, how does that explain what's happening?" Fernandez asked looking at the old man.  
  
"That bond allowed Buffy to pull energy from the Key, that energy has the power to regenerate cells, that is why Dawn hasn't aged." The Gatekeeper looked through the window, remembering the adventures they'd had in the time leading up to Buffy's ultimate sacrifice, "Buffy is now part of the Key, just as Dawn is part of Buffy."  
  
The doctor and the watcher just stared at him.  
  
"Is Jennifer here?" came a gruff voice from behind them.  
  
Cole-Pierce turned to see a youngish man about 18 to 20 years old, wearing a tailor made business suit, "No, she isn't." he lied, "Can I pass on a message?"  
  
"You are lying." the man said his voice carried a sound that really wasn't human.  
  
Spike suddenly stopped laughing, they had been reminiscing about a time when they had all been happier.  
  
"What is it Spike?" Buffy asked, her slayer senses were still as good as they had been 500 years ago.  
  
"I smell something." Spike said with a small sniff, "Something I haven't smelt since."  
  
"Since when, Spike?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Twenty years ago." he said looking at Dawn.  
  
"The Wereleopards?" Dawn asked, Spike merely nodded.  
  
"Can someone please fill me in?" Buffy asked.  
  
"About twenty years ago while we were hiding from the government we came across a pard of wereleopards, they were ravaging a small town to the west of here." Dawn said.  
  
"We managed to stop them, with the help of one of their members, a leopard by the name of Gabriel, he was an Alpha, but he wasn't powerful enough to take control of the pard on his own." Spike finished.  
  
By this point Buffy was out of bed and starting to get dressed.  
  
"Buffy! What are you doing?" Dawn asked a little shocked.  
  
"You're gonna need my help." she said determinedly.  
  
"No we won't." said Cole-Pierce as he walked in the door followed be the young man.  
  
Spike snarled at him as his face morphed into his vampiric nature.  
  
"Calm down vampire, I am not here to hurt you, as I said twenty years ago, I will not harm you if you do not ask it of me." he said.  
  
"You're the one who helped us get away before the military got there." Dawn said in amazement.  
  
"Yes, I am." the man said, "My name is Nathaniel, and I am Gabriel's lieutenant."  
  
"He took over control then?" Dawn made it a question.  
  
"Yes, after Raina was killed he was the most powerful leopard among us, so leadership fell to him by right of power." Nathaniel said.  
  
"So why are you here?" Spike said, he was obviously not comfortable with the leopard in the room.  
  
"Gabriel was killed, murdered actually." Nathaniel said, "By the police, ironic really."  
  
"Why's that?" this from Buffy who was still trying to piece this all together.  
  
"Before they found out what he was he was chief of police for the town he lived in." Nathaniel said with a small laugh, "But we now need a leader, none among us is strong enough to lead and the alliances that could be formed would not be strong enough to hold off an attack from another pard."  
  
"So why come to the slayer?" Cole-Pierce asked.  
  
"We want her to help us, we want to make her a léoparde lionne." Nathaniel said, "One who protects."  
  
"Aaarrrgg." Buffy cried as she doubled over in pain, and Dawn ran to her momentarily ignoring the leopard.  
  
Buffy threw back her head as she screamed, her eyes flew open and they were pure green.  
  
"The Key, it's overwhelming her." Fernandez said as she ran into the room.  
  
"Can we remove it from her?" asked Spike.  
  
"I don't know." Fernandez said, she looked very, very worried.  
  
"Yes, but it will not be without danger." The Gatekeeper said as he hobbled into the room.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	15. Chapter 14 - Nimir-ra

Title -Timeless 14: Nimir-ra  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless XIV: Nimir-ra.  
  
"That could kill them both!" Spike said his voice was raised in anger. The Gatekeeper had just finished telling them how they could get the Key power out of Buffy. Buffy was out cold thanks to a combination of pain and sedatives.  
  
"It could, but given what you have told me about your attempt to leave earth I do believe Dawn will survive." the old man said.  
  
"The earth won't let me go?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Yes, I believe that is part of the reason you have lived so long." The Gatekeeper was staring at Buffy lying in her bed.  
  
"Why is she feeling so much pain?" Fernandez asked.  
  
"The power of the Key is not compatible with her physiology." The Gatekeeper said as he struggled to get up in the end Spike and Dawn took an arm each and helped him.  
  
"Dawn never had any trouble." Spike said.  
  
"Her body was created specifically to channel the power." he said, "The Guardian's did a good job of creating the body."  
  
"Thank you." Dawn said with an embarrassed smile.  
  
"Dawn if you could place your fingers on either side of your sister's head like so." The Gatekeeper said demonstrating.  
  
"Okay." Dawn said a little hesitantly, copying his placement.  
  
"Now concentrate, think about being whole, focus on bringing all of yourself together." The Gatekeeper said standing a few feet back.  
  
Dawn's face twisted in concentration, and it seemed from the onlookers perspective that Dawn's fingers went into Buffy's head, a bright green light emanated from those points, it reminded those that had been there of Glory and the way she absorbed brain energy.  
  
Both Buffy and Dawn were screaming, Dawn's eyes were screwed shut in pain but Buffy's eyes had flown open and she was now fully awake, despite the drugs in her system. Dawn began to collapse but Spike was able to catch her in time.  
  
"No!" The Gatekeeper cried trying to stop Spike but he was too slow.  
  
Spike felt energy roll over under and through his skin, the feeling was incredible, it was like pain and pleasure and something else all at once, he too screamed as he began to loose control of himself, his face morphed and it then morphed again but into something green and spiky.  
  
"Oh my god, what is that?" whispered Fernandez to Cole-Pierce.  
  
"That is a vampire's true form, no humanity at all." he replied.  
  
Spike had a look of pure fury on his face, Dawn stopped screaming and her face went slack and her eyes flew open they were pure black, not green, not even the black most people think is black, but something more pure, more evil.  
  
"Oh no." The Gatekeeper said in shock.  
  
"YOU DARE INTERFERE IN MY AFFEARS?" the words came from Dawn's mouth but the voice was defiantly not hers it was deeper and with an echo, "YOU WILL PAY."  
  
A pulse of energy radiated from her it swept everyone from their feet.  
  
"Stop it Dawn." Spike said his voice was distorted due to the fact that in this form his fangs were sharper and there were more of them, "STOP IT!"  
  
Buffy's mouth was open in a silent scream, her features were aging before their eyes, she now looked like she was in her early thirties.  
  
Dawn pulled her fingers from her head and she and Spike collapsed into unconsciousness, Spike's features returned to normal.  
  
"Oh." groaned Fernandez as she sat up, "What was that?"  
  
"I don't know." Cole-Pierce said as he too sat up, he looked at The Gatekeeper, who seemed to be barely breathing.  
  
Fernandez rushed to his side and checked his vitals, "He's going to be okay."  
  
"D-Dawn?" Buffy croaked, she had stopped aging at her mid-forties.  
  
Cole-Pierce got up and went to her side, he checked Dawn's pulse, "I think she's alright." he told her.  
  
"Bloody 'ell." came Spike's voice, "Wot 'appened." it seemed that for the first time in 300 years his accent had returned.  
  
"The power was too much for her to handle." came The Gatekeeper's weak voice, he was being helped into a wheel chair by Fernandez and a male nurse, "I should have realised."  
  
Cole-Pierce and Spike both helped to get Dawn up onto the other bed in the room. Fernandez took some blood from both of them and sent it to be tested.  
  
Suddenly the phone in the corner rang, Fernandez went and answered it, after a heated conversation she came back to the beds, "That was the hospital manager, I've been called in to explain what's been going on."  
  
"What will happen?" Cole-Pierce asked.  
  
"I don't know, I'll have to give the Council a ring and get instructions." she said heading out the door.  
  
"I am sorry to interrupt." came Nathaniel's voice from the door, "But I really need to." he broke off as he saw Buffy.  
  
"Yes?" Cole-Pierce prompted.  
  
"I.I must go." he looked very worried, either that or very concerned, it was hard to tell. He spun on his heels and left in a hurry.  
  
"How odd." Cole-Pierce said shaking his head.  
  
"Can say that again." Spike said getting up from his seat beside Dawn and stretching.  
  
"Oh." groaned Dawn, she was coming round.  
  
"Rafael, I have seen it." Nathaniel said as he entered the back room at the Night Blooming Café.  
  
Rafael, the owner, looked up from his accounts book, "Seen what Nathaniel?"  
  
"The Nimir-ra." he said the word like it was holy.  
  
"That is impossible, we have had no Nimir-ra for the last four centuries." Rafael said getting up, his eyes were not normal, they were bright gold with flecks of red radiating from the center, this was because Rafael was a wereleopard, he was formerly one of Gabriel's lieutenants.  
  
"It was her, I tell you." Nathaniel said almost like a little child.  
  
"Alright, my friend what did she look like?" Rafael said as he moved over to a liquor cabinet, "A drink?"  
  
"Scotch neat." Nathaniel answered as he sat in the seat opposite the desk.  
  
Rafael fixed Nathaniel's drink and made himself a martini with an onion, "Now what did you see?" he said handing the glass to Nathaniel.  
  
"She was lying in a hospital bed, I had done as you asked and gone to find Jennifer Harris," Nathaniel said taking a sip of his drink, "While there talking to her watcher, another slayer had some problems, some magic or other, she was identical to the description of the Nimir-ra."  
  
"Describe her for me." Rafael asked.  
  
"Blonde, about 5 foot 4, 40 to 45 years old, fine featured." Nathaniel said.  
  
"It could be her." Rafael said looking pensive, "I will need to see her."  
  
"Can you come now?" Nathaniel asked.  
  
"I can slip away, yes." Rafael said.  
  
They both stood up leaving their half drunk drinks on the table and headed for the door.  
  
"The hospital review board is being convened to review my actions concerning Buffy and Dawn." Fernandez said as she sat in the room with Cole- Pierce and Spike on either side of her. Dawn and Buffy were asleep on the other side of the room.  
  
"Can the Council do anything?" Cole-Pierce asked.  
  
"They could swing it so I get to keep my medical licence but in this economic climate they can't guarantee I'll keep my job or that they can get me a new one." she looked very unhappy.  
  
"It'll be alright, luv, I mean you could always go into business for yourself." Spike said in an attempt to cheer her up.  
  
"It's not the same, I have always wanted to work in the ER, it's what I was born for." Fernandez said she was sounding a lot less happy.  
  
"Doc?" Dawn's voice came from her bed.  
  
"Yes Ms Summers?" Fernandez said as she got up and walked over to her bedside.  
  
"What's going on?" Dawn asked as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.  
  
"I'm probably getting fired." Fernandez said with a fake smile plastered on her face.  
  
"Oh okay." Dawn was still partly asleep.  
  
"She is in here." came Nathaniel's voice from just outside the door.  
  
The door to the hospital room was pushed open and in walked Nathaniel and another person they didn't know.  
  
"This is Rafael, he is my only equal in the pard." Nathaniel said as Rafael walked over to look at Buffy.  
  
"See is she not the Nimir-ra?" Nathaniel asked looking at Rafael.  
  
"Nimir-ra?" asked Cole-Pierce, "What's that?"  
  
"Wereleopard Queen." Nathaniel replied before looking back at Rafael, "Is she?"  
  
To Be Continued. 


	16. Chapter 15 - Life's Surprises

Title -Timeless 15: Life's Surprises  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless XV: Life's Surprises  
  
"See is she not the Nimir-ra?" Nathaniel asked looking at Rafael.  
  
"Nimir-ra?" asked Cole-Pierce, "What's that?"  
  
"Wereleopard Queen." Nathaniel replied before looking back at Rafael, "Is she?"  
  
"No, she certainly has the look, but she has not the power." Rafael answered.  
  
"Doesn't have the power?" Cole-Pierce asked, "What do you mean power?"  
  
"She is pure human, no powers at all." Rafael answered looking at him.  
  
"Wait did you say pure human?" Fernandez asked.  
  
"Yes, why?" Rafael asked.  
  
"Because she's a slayer." Dawn spoke up.  
  
"No, she's pure human, nothing preternatural at all." Rafael told them.  
  
"Perhaps you had better get her blood tested again." Cole-Pierce said looking at Fernandez.  
  
"Yes, quite." she answered as she moved away to get a syringe.  
  
As she drew blood from Buffy, Rafael and Nathaniel turned and approached Jennifer.  
  
"May we have a word or two with you and your watcher?" Rafael asked.  
  
"Sure." Jennifer said as she led them out of the room.  
  
"I don't know if your watcher has told you of the reason we first came here to find you, but we want you to be a léoparde lionne." Rafael said looking at the slayer.  
  
"A léoparde lionne? What is that?" Jennifer asked looking between the three men standing around her.  
  
"A léoparde lionne is the term the wereleopards use for a person who protects the pard." Nathaniel said.  
  
"Why do you need me to protect your pard?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"When our previous leader, Gabriel, was hunted down and killed by the police, we lost our most powerful member." Rafael said, "If we are attacked by another pard we will all be killed, we have no strong leader."  
  
"And you want me to act as a bodyguard?" Jennifer made it a question.  
  
"Yes, we had our hopes that Buffy was our Nimir-ra, our Leopard Queen, but as Rafael said she is not." Nathaniel said.  
  
"Not to sound selfish but do I get anything out of this deal?" Jennifer asked as she led them to the nearest seats.  
  
"You get the protection of the pard if and when you need it." Rafael said as he sat next to her.  
  
"How many members of the pard are there?" Cole-Pierce asked, taking the seat on the other side of Jennifer.  
  
"At the present time there are twelve members including the two of us." Nathaniel said indicating himself and Rafael.  
  
"I want to meat with them all before I agree." Jennifer said as she stood.  
  
"Very well, I will arrange the meeting but it has to be soon." Nathaniel said.  
  
"Why soon?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"Because in four days there is a purple moon." Rafael said.  
  
"A purple moon? I've never heard of that, what is it?" Cole-Pierce asked looking intrigued.  
  
"The moon appears purple, and the wereleopards have an uncontrollable urge to try and take over the nearest weakest pard." Nathaniel told them.  
  
"And yours is the weakest for several states right?" Jennifer asked.  
  
"Yes." the two lycanthropes did not look happy about that.  
  
"Okay set the meeting up for tomorrow noon." Jennifer said.  
  
"As good as done." Rafael said. Then he and Nathaniel turned on their heels and headed towards the doors out of the hospital.  
  
"I told you she would want a meeting." Nathaniel said in almost an accusatory tone.  
  
They were approaching Rafael's private transport, Rafael had offered to drive Nathaniel to his home, and his wife.  
  
"Yes, you did, and how is it you know her so well?" Rafael asked.  
  
"I understand her mind, it is similar to mine." Nathaniel said with a smile.  
  
Rafael laughed heartily as he slapped his friend on the back, "You make the worst jokes I've ever heard."  
  
Forty minutes later, after a minor argument over priorities with the lab techs, Fernandez received the blood test results form Buffy's blood.  
  
"I'll be damned." she said reading the piece of paper.  
  
"What?" Cole-Pierce said as he walked towards her.  
  
"She's not a slayer." Fernandez said, "There's no trace of the energy marker that gives the slayer her powers."  
  
"None at all?" the watcher said taking the paper from her.  
  
"She's done something impossible, she's become human." Fernandez said looking at the sleeping form of Buffy.  
  
"I thought the whole idea of a slayer was that the only way they could stop was if they died?" Spike asked with a yawn, "Hey d'ya think they'd mind if I borrowed a pint of O-neg?"  
  
Cole-Pierce raised an eyebrow at him, as Fernandez said, "I'll go get you one."  
  
"But you're right the only way for a slayer to retire is to die." Cole- Pierce said walking towards Buffy.  
  
"Of course I her case she's been dead three times so far and lost in a dimensional portal once." Dawn said with a small smile.  
  
"She is an oddity." came The Gatekeeper's voice.  
  
"What do you mean?" Dawn asked, her voice was full of concern for her sister.  
  
"She doesn't belong here, she was meant to have died in 2026." he said looking down at the peaceful sleeping form of Buffy.  
  
"No." Dawn's voice was barely a whisper.  
  
"Yes, you knew it was so when she reappeared." The Gatekeeper said.  
  
Spike's eyes were watery with unshed tears and his expression was almost identical to Dawn's.  
  
"So, what will happen?" Cole-Pierce asked, even he was touched by the scene in the room.  
  
"Reality will try to get itself back to the original course." The Gatekeeper said, "It will try to erase Buffy from this timeline."  
  
"Can I-I do anything?" Dawn's voice was still very quiet.  
  
"No amount of dimensional altering will help." the old man said taking the nearest seat.  
  
"Um, has anyone noticed that Buffy's getting older before our eyes?" Spike said he was standing closest to Buffy's bedside.  
  
Dawn gasped as she looked over at her sister and saw that she look at least 80 years old.  
  
"Dear god!" exclaimed Cole-Pierce.  
  
"What is it?" Fernandez had returned with a blood pack, which she handed to Spike.  
  
"I-it's B-Buffy." Dawn sounded like she was going into shock.  
  
Fernandez walked towards Buffy's bed and pushed past Cole-Pierce and Jennifer, who had been silent all this time.  
  
"Oh. My. God." she uttered when she say the state of the former slayer.  
  
"She has a choice now." came a highly cultured voice from the door.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	17. Chapter 16 - Angels & Demons

Title -Timeless 16: Angels & Demons  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless XVI: Angels & Demons  
  
The entire group turned as one to stare at the man in the doorway who had spoken.  
  
He had a mane of white hair flowing like water down his back, his suit looked like it cost more than what most people made in a lifetime, and he had a pure white moustache.  
  
What made him odd was the huge sword strapped to his back, it was at least four feet long and encrusted with jewels and precious stones.  
  
"What did you say?" Spike asked menacingly.  
  
"I said she has a choice now." the man repeated.  
  
"A choice? What choice she's dieing!" Dawn cried, she had gotten out of her bed and was slowly walking towards the man.  
  
"She was a slayer, we need that power and that talent, I am here to giver her the choice to help us, to continue her fight against the darkness and the evil." the man said as he walked into the room.  
  
"Who are you?" Spike asked, "You certainly don't smell human, or vampire or even demon if it comes to that."  
  
"You wouldn't understand what I really am but the closest human language comes to it is an angel." the man said.  
  
"An angel? You?" Spike asked amusedly.  
  
"Yes, I am an angel." the man said, "I am known as The Dawning Star, but when I'm here I go by Joseph."  
  
"And you're here to what? Make Buffy an angel?" Cole-pierce asked.  
  
"Sort of." Joseph said, "We need more warriors on our side, we approached Faith when she died, but she turned us down, however Willow and Tara joined us, Buffy could be with them again."  
  
"Willow?" Buffy croaked as she came round, she now looked about 95 years old.  
  
"Yes, you could be with them both again." Joseph said as he leant over her.  
  
"What.Catch?" Buffy forced out.  
  
"No catch, you get to continue your fight against the forces of darkness and evil." Joseph said with a smile.  
  
"I.come back.here again?" Buffy asked her voice getting weaker.  
  
"If you need to, time is no barrier, you will live forever and your powers will only increase, your slayer strength will be returned.." Joseph said still smiling, "These are all the standard questions that get asked."  
  
"D-deal." Buffy said a second before she stopped breathing, the heart monitor wailed as her heart stopped.  
  
"Buffy!" cried Dawn, she rushed to her sister's side just as a burst of bright pure white light came out of Buffy's body.  
  
"Angels cry as Demons laugh, Demons wail as Angels soar!" Joseph cried at the top of his voice.  
  
The light that was coming from Buffy began to flow towards him moving and reshaping eventually taking a humanoid shape beside Joseph. The shape kept resolving and refining itself until with a small flash the shape became Buffy, age 21.  
  
There were several differences between this Buffy and the dead one, for one this new Buffy's hair wasn't blonde it was gold, pure shiny, glittering gold, and her clothes were so white it hurt to look at them, and there was a sword identical to Joseph's strapped to her back.  
  
"Buffy?" Spike asked in amazement.  
  
"Yes." Buffy's voice was slightly different too, it was more resonant and it flowed over the skin of the rest of the people in the room, giving them all goose bumps, even Spike.  
  
"Buffy!" cried Dawn as she ran to her.  
  
"Dawny." Buffy said with a huge smile as she hugged her little sister.  
  
"You look.radiant." Spike said walking over to her.  
  
"Thank you, Spike, and thank you for looking after Dawn all these years." Buffy said looking at him with eyes that made Spike feel all tingly inside.  
  
"I never brake a promise to a lady." Spike said looking a little embarrassed.  
  
"Did you hear?" the voice belonged to an ugly looking demon with huge horns growing out of it's temples. His skin was bright green and it had a splattering of purple spots on the face.  
  
"They recruited a slayer." this voice came from a demon with red skin and pure blue eyes.  
  
"Not just any slayer, they got Buffy." a demon about ten feet tall with orange and green spotted skin and ridges running down it's face.  
  
"She has killed more of us than any other slayer in history." the first demon said.  
  
"She was a menace to our kind as a human, can you imagine what she could do with angel strength?" the third demon asked.  
  
"I don't need to imagine, I can see it." this was a black skinned demon with blue horns growing from the front and back of it's head, "I'm a prognosticating demon and I can see she's going to destroy this council."  
  
"This council is Legion we cannot be destroyed." the second demon said.  
  
"Wrong! The ancient prophecies tell that a woman will come and she will topple the balance that this war has come to." the first demon said.  
  
"Toppling the balance is not the same as destroying this council." the prognosticating demon said.  
  
"This council will not be destroyed!" a booming voice from the other side of the room.  
  
"Morning Star, we did not realise you were there." the first demon said as he bowed.  
  
"The new player is of no consequence, she will be crushed like the rest of the angel legions." Morning Star said.  
  
"With all due respect, Lucifer, you cannot know that for certain, she is an unknown quantity, just like Angelus." the prognosticating demon said.  
  
"DO NOT MENTION THAT NAME!" Lucifer's voice was loud enough to make the walls quiver and dust to fall from the ceiling.  
  
"My apologies, my liege." the prognosticating demon said in submission.  
  
"I will forgive you this time my servant." Lucifer said.  
  
"Morning Star, we must settle on a course of action." the tird demon said turning to Lucifer.  
  
"Yes, we must." he said.  
  
"Dawn, do you remember what I told you before I leapt into Glory's dimensional portal?" Buffy was sitting with Dawn and Spike in the back room of the Millennium Bookstore.  
  
"Yes." Dawn was still in awe of her sister and her new look.  
  
"What was it?" Buffy said leaning forward.  
  
"The hardest thing in this world ... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me." Dawn echoed Buffy's words back at her.  
  
"And you have, you lived longer than you should have, and you helped Spike and he helped you." Buffy said with a small sad smile on her face.  
  
"You're leaving, aren't you." Dawn had tears flowing down her face.  
  
"Yes, I have to, I no longer belong here." Buffy said looking lovingly into Dawns sad spectrum blue eyes.  
  
"I-I don't think I can go on." Dawn said with a sob.  
  
"You can, just remember you need to live and be brave." Buffy said standing, she was starting to glow with a golden radiance, "Dawn, the hardest thing in this world ... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me." she said with a sad smile as she faded from existence.  
  
"Buffy! No!" Dawn cried.  
  
Spike felt his heart breaking at the sight of the love of his life crying and in so much pain.  
  
"Will she be alright?" Buffy asked Joseph. They were standing in almost exactly the same place Buffy had a few second earlier.  
  
"Yes she will be fine, we are keeping an eye on her." Joseph answered.  
  
"And her destiny?" Buffy asked turning to look at Spike hugging Dawn and trying to comfort her.  
  
"It will be seen to, we need to get going, the Legion Council knows we have recruited you." Joseph turning and leading the way through a astral door.  
  
"Can I really come back?" Buffy asked as she followed him.  
  
THE END (for now.) 


	18. Chapter 17 - A Family Thing

Title -Timeless 2: 1: A Family Thing  
  
Author - Misty (misty@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
I, Misty (misty@i-am-the-key.com), hereby give permission for Shane Hopkins, aka The Sorcerer Bard to post our story, "Timeless" at FanFiction.net. This, 3rd day of August, 2002  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless 2 - I: A Family Thing  
  
The year, 4504, Dawn and Spike have lived long enough to begin to see dramatic changes in the Human race. People have become so tall and thin that Spike and Dawn truly have to be careful. They now stand out, even when in a crowd. With disease and war and almost all of the things that tended to cause an early death now well in the past, except for accidents, people generally lived well over a hundred years. Although great strides had been made regarding aging, the great human demise continues to be the inevitable outcome.  
  
Perhaps one of the greatest contributions to the field of medicine was the evolution of nanotechnology. These man-made microscopic "machines" all but ended the "cancer" threat as well as the threat of a broad number of physical anomalies.  
  
Use of nanotechnology also found it's way into other aspects of society. When babies are born into the world in this far future, personal identification is simplified by the insertion of a microscopic nanochip in an otherwise little used area in that mass of nerve tissue in the cranium, called the brain. So when anyone goes to buy anything anywhere, the unique signal given by this implant automatically charges the amount to the "account" for that person. Money, credit cards, etc. are ancient artefacts as there is no need.  
  
Ironically, the chip inserted in Spike's brain, centuries before, has become an asset to Dawn and Spike. Spike was pleased to learn that his "chip" gives off a like signal and when he goes in to "buy" anything the amount is automatically charged to his "account." No one has figured out yet that his "account" doesn't exist, because they don't ever check these things...there is no need. So, in this far future society, Dawn and Spike have found that they can easily obtain just about anything, within reason, no questions asked.  
  
Another thing that exists is this far future are "replicators." These were first used on space vessels travelling to other galaxies. The "star-drive," allowing man to travel enormous distances was finally "invented" sometime in the late 3400's. Followed by many other break-throughs, including the replicator. Although these devices were first discussed in the late 21st century, particularly in popular science fiction of the time, it wasn't until 3508 that such a device actually became a reality. Now, they are used throughout the planet as well as space. Unfortunately, these also brought about what will be known for eons as the "Farmer Riots." But, we won't get into that right now.  
  
It was at this time that a thought occurred to Dawn. She discussed this with Spike and after much consideration, he could see her logic. Dawn had decided to travel back in time to accomplish a dangerous, yet possible task. When it was time, and all was ready, Spike gave Dawn that raised eyebrow look,  
  
"I don't know what else there is to do. I guess we better get started."  
  
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Spike giving Dawn that side glance."  
  
"Yes, but hold me first"  
  
Spike gave Dawn a long tender hug and a gentle kiss. "Let's get to it then."  
  
They had obtained the use of a laboratory with a rather large replicator. At this point, Dawn now held three doctorates and a medical degree and was well known for some of her own theories. Some believed that it was Dr. Summers who actually invented the replicator itself. They were not far off.  
  
Dawn and Spike travelled back in time to the point where her mother had just died due to the embolism caused by the removal of the tumour. She brought her mother's body forward, replicated it and returned the body. Then they went back about an hour before, substituted the replicated body and brought her mother into the future lab and were able to successfully treat the tumour. To do this they had first had to cause Joyce to be unconscious. When she woke up, she found herself in a strange place with Dawn standing over her and Spike looking on from a distance.  
  
"What, Dawny, what is going on, where am I honey?"  
  
"Mom," Dawn couldn't help herself, she hugged her mother and wept, she then tightly and took her mother's hand.  
  
"Mom, I don't know how to tell you this, but you are in the year 4504."  
  
Joyce's eyes became big and round. "But how, why?"  
  
"Mom, you died in your time, because of the tumour. Because I am The Key, I have not aged, neither has Spike."  
  
Spike stepped forward, came around the table where Joyce laid and took her other hand. "I am glad to see you again Joyce," his voice cracking and with tears in his eyes.  
  
Joyce looked at Dawn, and then at Spike and guessed. "You two are together now?"  
  
"Yes we are, and I love Spike and he loves me. We, we have been together for over 2,000 years now."  
  
Joyce looked at them, "It is incredible. Neither one of you look any older."  
  
"What about, what about, Bu."  
  
"Hi mom!"  
  
Out stepped Buffy, and Willow, and Tara, and Xander, and Anya, and Giles.  
  
The scene that followed truly cannot be described.  
  
The plan Dawn had discussed with Spike, was to go back and retrieve all of the Scooby gang, if they wanted to. They were each given a choice, except for Joyce. The entire "project" had taken several months due to the many trips back and forth to determine exact times of death and then to decide when to replicate, etc. The one thing that replication did allow, a discovery by Dawn, was that during the replication process, age could be reversed. In effect, Dawn had discovered away for immortality to exist. She realized the implications of this discovery and had kept it a secret that only she and Spike were aware. She was fearful of what the implications would be for mankind if it were ever to get out.  
  
All that she knew, is that she now had her "family" back. 


	19. Chapter 18 - Definite Past

Title -Timeless 2: 2: Definite Past  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless 2 - II: Definite Past  
  
It had been many years since Dawn had brought her family back from the dead, and life was treating them all well, Dawn had been appointed to a post as an advisor to the president on matters concerning the demonic races.  
  
Spike was her ever present companion he rarely left her side, Buffy found she still had her slayer powers and so, under the advise of Dawn, the president appointed her to the head of the global police force, Preternatural Investigation Taskforce or PIT as they were known, Giles was their advisor and was now married to Joyce, much to Buffy's dismay.  
  
Willow and Tara were now the most powerful witches on the planet, and ran the Wicca Council fairly and wisely. Xander and Anya were now respected business people running their own building and magic stores.  
  
The demonic races were now a part of society and were living within the law, with a few exceptions. However things in other dimensions were nowhere near as calm, the war between good and evil had once again been fought to a standstill. The Angel Legions and the Legion Council had been constantly recruiting warriors.  
  
When Dawn had brought her 'family' back from the dead she ha din essence duplicated their souls. This was a good thing because the Buffy she had brought back was from a time before she had sacrificed herself to save the world a second time in 2026 but Buffy had been recruited into the Angel Legions in 2523, when she had been recovered from a dimensional portal. This meant that for the first time in existence there were two distinct entities that were identical.  
  
It was early in 4525 when Dawn and Spike were having a picnic under the full moon when they felt a rumbling.  
  
"What is that?" Spike exclaimed.  
  
"A portal! It's opening! Here. Now." Dawn said as she stood and looked franticly around.  
  
Suddenly about four feet in front of them a swirling vortex appeared. Four figures came tumbling from it, two looked human, with the exception of the battle helmets, but the other two were demons, there was no other name for it. They were both green with purple horns sprouting from their temples. Their glowing grey eyes scanned the area, they had realised that they were no longer in their own dimension.  
  
The two humans stood up and faced the demons with swords drawn.  
  
"Ig if-gg og or'id." the demons cried in unison as the turned and ran out of the park.  
  
"Ig'gg og irf-nf'qh." the tallest of the human's called after them, the voice was male and deep, it had a quality that made the hair on the back of their necks stand on it's end.  
  
While all this was going on Spike and Dawn had jumped to positions from which they could launch an attack.  
  
"Stay right where you are!" Spike called to them, he was pointing a rifle at the one who hadn't said anything.  
  
"Who are you?" Dawn asked, she had a gun in her hand and had it pointed at the man who had spoken.  
  
"We come in peace?" said the shorter of the two, it was a female voice which cause goose bumps on their skin.  
  
Spike and Dawn looked at each other, they both remembered that voice.  
  
"Buffy?" Dawn asked in amazement.  
  
"Dawny!" Buffy replied happily as she pulled her helmet off, this was not the Buffy Dawn had brought back from the dead 16 years ago. This Buffy had shimmering gold hair and looked about 21 years old.  
  
"It's been too long big sis." Dawn said walking up to her and giving her a big hug.  
  
"You have no idea." Buffy said with a smile, "You both know Joseph." she said turning to indicate the male, who had by this point removed his helmet.  
  
"Okay sorry to interrupt this happy reunion but what were those?" Spike said gesturing after the demons.  
  
"They were Gornath demons." Joseph said, he had toned his voice down so Spike and Dawn were comfortable, "They are foot soldiers for the Legion Council."  
  
"The Legion Council? Who are they?" Dawn asked.  
  
"The Devil." Spike said, his voice had taken on a sacred tone.  
  
"And his advisors." Buffy added.  
  
"The Devil? Lucifer?" Dawn asked, "Are you telling me that he actually exists?"  
  
"Yes." Joseph said.  
  
"He chairs the Legion Council, they are the ruling body of evil." Buffy said, "When Wolfram & Hart were in existence they were the senior partners."  
  
"And you've been fighting them? For the past what two thousand odd years?" Dawn asked.  
  
"We plus the Angel Legions, yes." Buffy said, by this time Dawn and Spike were packing the picnic up.  
  
"I need to speak with you alone at some point soon." Buffy said looking directly into Dawn's eyes.  
  
"Oookay." Dawn said, she sounded a little suspisious.  
  
"So, how long has it been for you?" Spike asked the two warriors.  
  
"Almost four millennia." Joseph answered.  
  
"Four millennia? That's a long time." Spike said conversationally.  
  
"Tell me about it." Buffy said with a laugh, "Joseph is my lover now, we have shared battle and victory together and that makes the time go by faster."  
  
Dawn choked a little before asking, "Y-your lover? I thought he was the one who brought you into this angel army?"  
  
"Yes." Buffy smiled widely, "He was but we found that we had a connection going back many years before I was even born."  
  
"Okay, um we should probably get going." Spike suggested as he picked up the picnic basket.  
  
"Okay, our limos at the park gate." Dawn said.  
  
"Limo?" Buffy asked.  
  
"You don't know? We work for the government now." Dawn said.  
  
"Since when?" Buffy asked, "No wait don't answer that, tell me how the demon population is handling being legal citizens?"  
  
"For the most part they're being responsible, there are some who weren't exactly normal to begin with who are raising hell, in the figurative sense." Dawn answered.  
  
"The Angel Legions want to adopt the idea for the other dimensions they control." Joseph said as they approached the gate.  
  
"You mean this world is a test case?" Spike asked.  
  
"Correct." Joseph answered simply.  
  
They all piled into the waiting limo, which was government issue, and headed for the mansion in which Dawn and Spike had lived the last five years, also government issue.  
  
Twenty minutes later they were lounging in the main living room of the mansion.  
  
"My they do treat governmental employees well these days." Joseph said.  
  
"Yea they do don't they." Spike answered.  
  
"Dawn, we need to talk." Buffy gently reminded her sister.  
  
"Okay, we can talk in my study." Dawn said leading the way out of the room.  
  
"What's she needing to talk about?" Spike asked looking at Joseph.  
  
"The future and the past." Joseph answered cryptically.  
  
"So, what is it you needed to talk about?" Dawn asked as she took a seat and indicated to Buffy to take the opposite seat.  
  
"Your future, and our past." Buffy answered, "You remember Glory?"  
  
"I still have nightmares." Dawn said nodding her head.  
  
"Well, what you may not know is that she was actually you or at least a possible future you." Buffy said, Dawn shot her a confused look so she continued, "In a possible future you lose everything that tied you to this world and you went insane, an accident cost you your looks so you used medical and magical methods to repair your features, this however meant that you looked different."  
  
"Right, and somehow I got control of a hell dimension?" Dawn looked sceptical.  
  
"Yes, then you were exiled to earth and the rest is history that you already know." Buffy said.  
  
"Your serious aren't you?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Deadly." Buffy said with a poker face, "But like Joseph did for me, we're here to offer you a choice."  
  
"A choice?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Yes, now obviously a copy of you will have to remain in this timeline so it can become Glory." Buffy said, "But we need the power of the Key on our side in order to sway the tide of battle."  
  
"And so you thought you'd offer me a choice?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Yes, but we need your answer right now." Buffy said, "Are you with us or not?"  
  
To Be Continued. 


	20. Chapter 19 - Hard Choices

Title -Timeless 2: 3: Hard Choices  
  
Author -The Sorcerer Bard (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless 2 - III: Hard Choices  
  
"What happens to Spike?" Dawn asked.  
  
"I-I can't tell you." Buffy looked uncomfortable for the first time since she had come through the portal.  
  
"He gets killed doesn't he?" Dawn said casting her eyes downwards.  
  
"Yes, at a slayers hand." Buffy said still looking uncomfortable, she leaned back in her chair, her hair moved like it was water and flowed over the chair's back.  
  
"Can you get him into the army?" Dawn asked.  
  
"No I couldn't." Buffy said.  
  
Dawn buried her head in her hands and Buffy could tell she was almost crying.  
  
"But you could." Buffy said.  
  
"What?" Dawn's head flew up and she looked her sister directly in the eyes.  
  
"Only one who has a connection can sponsor a new recruit." Buffy said moving forwards and closer to Dawn, "You and Spike are soul mates."  
  
"Spike has no soul." Dawn said almost automatically, many people had said the same thing over the centuries.  
  
"Yes, he does, it's not the same as a human soul but he does have one." Buffy said with a small smile.  
  
"So what do I have to do?" Dawn asked, "To be a member of this army?"  
  
"You swear allegiance to God, then when you die you are transformed, like you saw when I died." Buffy said, then frowned, "Well that's how it works with humans, with you being the Key I have no idea how we do this."  
  
"Would Joseph know? Because I'm not saying yes till I know what's going to happen." Dawn said, metaphorically putting her foot down.  
  
"I don't know, he is the oldest surviving member of the army, so he may know." Buffy said looking thoughtful.  
  
"Ask him, please?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Okay." Buffy said as she got up and headed towards the door to the study.  
  
"Joseph, may I speak with you?" Buffy said putting her head round the corner into the living room.  
  
"Certainly." Joseph said getting up and walking towards her.  
  
"How will Dawn be initiated?" Buffy asked.  
  
"She will be duplicated, the duplicate will not have all the Key power and that will be left here to live the rest of her life." Joseph said.  
  
"But it will have all Dawn's memories?" Buffy asked looking a little worried.  
  
"Yes, up to the point she was duplicated, with a few minor alterations." Joseph said with a small cold smile.  
  
"What alterations?" Buffy asked, she looked shocked at the idea.  
  
"Her memories of our meetings." Joseph said.  
  
A thought occurred to Buffy, "You said she won't have all the Key power, keyword all, what do you mean?"  
  
"The duplicate will be able to move through dimensions a few times but it will run out of power and it will be stuck in the last dimension it is in." Joseph said.  
  
"By this point she will be Glory, right?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yes." Joseph said.  
  
"I'll go tell her." Buffy said turning and heading towards the study.  
  
Buffy found Dawn in pretty much the same position she had left her in, sitting on the chair, with her head in her hands, still trying to come to terms with what her future held.  
  
"Dawn?" Buffy asked gently.  
  
"Mmm?" Dawn answered looking up, Buffy could see she had been crying.  
  
"I found the answers you wanted." Buffy said walking over to her chair.  
  
"So how would it happen?" Dawn asked her voice was breaking slightly.  
  
Buffy repeated what Joseph had told her.  
  
"When it happens can I move through time to when Spike dies?" Dawn asked the question that had been at the forefront of her mind.  
  
"If that is what you want." Buffy said with a small smile.  
  
"Good, then I agree." Dawn said.  
  
"Then the next choice is up to you completely, I cannot give you any advise on it, okay?" Buffy had a very serious look on her face.  
  
"I understand." Dawn said her face matching the seriousness of her tone.  
  
"When?" Buffy said simply.  
  
"Twenty years?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Done." Buffy said standing.  
  
"I'll miss you." Dawn said knowingly.  
  
"What makes you think I'm going?" Buffy said with a small smile as Dawn stood to face her.  
  
"Because you have to." Dawn replied simply.  
  
"You always were smarter than you let on." Buffy told her .  
  
Buffy and Joseph opened a portal right there in Dawn's home and departed the world.  
  
"So what did you two talk about?" Spike asked as the relaxed on the couch.  
  
"Ask me that again some other time." Dawn answered, she was sleepy and within minutes she was asleep with her head in Spike's lap.  
  
"Sure think, Lil-bit." Spike said quietly, calling her by the name he hadn't called her in almost five hundred years.  
  
The next nineteen years passed way too fast for Dawn's liking, major leaps were made in medicine and technology, so much so that in the year 4544 the Earth caught the attention of an alien race that decided to make contact. The Novian's were that first extraterrestrials that humanity had encountered, no one knew what the consequences would be. For it was unknown at the time but the Novian's carried within them the keys to eventual downfall of mankind.  
  
Hundreds of years earlier the Novian race suffered a plague of biblical proportions, trillions died, the geneticists found a way to stop the virus but they couldn't rid themselves of it completely. So when they came to Earth the virus spread to humanity, it would take another ten years for it to start killing but by then this would all be academic to Dawn.  
  
It was late in 2545 and Dawn was in her governmental office reading through some reports of a major inter-species conflict that was brewing between the Frogathy Demons and a faction of Novians. Dawn's eyes flicked up and scanned the room, she had a buzzing at the back of her brain that told her that an interdimensional portal was opening.  
  
Suddenly the room quaked and quivered and a portal opened just three feet in front of her desk. From it stepped Buffy followed by Joseph.  
  
"Dawny!" Buffy exclaimed as she rushed round her desk to hug her sister.  
  
"Buffy, I'd almost forgotten, it's time isn't it?" Dawn said she sounded sad.  
  
"Yes, but don't worry." Buffy said raising Dawn's head so she could look into her eyes, "Everything has been planned."  
  
Dawn noticed at that point another figure had come from the portal, "Who.?"  
  
The figure stepped into the light. It was Dawn, of course there was no sign of life in her eyes she was just an animated shell.  
  
"My duplicate?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Yes, all you need to do is place your hands on either side of it's head, we will do the rest." Joseph said.  
  
Dawn did as he had said, she heard them chanting in a language she had never heard before. She felt a small electrical tingle run down her arms and into the duplicate.  
  
The tingle increased until her arms felt numb, and suddenly it stopped as did the chanting.  
  
"It is done." Joseph said.  
  
Dawn felt a tingle all over her body, which had started to give off a bright green glow. Her body began to morph, it looked to Buffy and Joseph as if her body was aging. Soon her body reached it's peak age of 25. She felt her powers increasing and her control of them improving. Her hair took on a glow that made sunlight look dark. Her clothes changed too, they became pure white and more elegant.  
  
Dawn felt something hard pressing against her back, she moved her arm backwards already knowing what it would find. Her hand wrapped round the handle and she drew her sword, it was pure green and glowed in the light, she stared at it with a smile on her face.  
  
"Wow." her voice was different it had a quality that made the hair on the back of people's necks stand on end.  
  
"Glad you like it little sis." Buffy said, "And now it's time to go."  
  
"The duplicate will be identical to me?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Yes it will act and think like you it is essentially you, we have done something similar to what you have when you brought your family back." Joseph said.  
  
"Let's go, I want to go and save Spike." Dawn said leading the way into the portal, which closed behind them.  
  
The duplicate Dawn took her seat and began reading the reports that were on the desk.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	21. Epilogue - Cyclic History

Title -Timeless: Epilogue: Cyclic History  
  
Author - Misty (misty@I-am-the-key.com)  
  
I, Misty (misty@i-am-the-key.com), hereby give permission for Shane Hopkins, aka The Sorcerer Bard to post our story, "Timeless" at FanFiction.net. This, 3rd day of August, 2002  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless: Epilogue: Cyclic History  
  
The "true" powers of The Key have now been revealed. Dawn is able to move through time at will. She can also move through dimensions in like manner.  
  
She has accumulated vast knowledge over the centuries. Over time, she had become very powerful. It was in the year 6666 that the "Great" change occurred. Spike had been killed in the year 6000 by a "Slayer." All of her "family" had passed away due to the Novian Plague that had caught the human race by surprise soon after the Novian's arrived. Very few survived. In the six hundred years that followed she had become very very powerful, angry and bitter. In the year 6650 Dawn's face was terribly burned, her mind began to snap. Undergoing unbelievable pain and suffering she performed plastic surgery on herself. When she was done she had been able to make a new face and hair. She was beautiful again, but didn't look the same.  
  
It was then that those who followed her began refering to her as the "holy one" and then Dawn decided to take her most loyal minions with her to live in an other dimension where she could rule and do what she wanted.  
  
Her minions loved her and worshipped her. She had become a god. She entered a dimension where there were already two hell-gods. After countless centuries, she decided to make the dimension her own and a great war took place.  
  
The hell-gods won the war and she was cast out to live her life in the body of a new-born human male. Some of her minions were sent to care for her. They call her "Glorificus." 


End file.
